


New Beginnings

by Triangle_Goddess



Category: Avengers, Danny Phantom, MCU
Genre: F/M, Found Family, King Danny, fuck vlad lol, guys in white (mentioned) - Freeform, hidden identities
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-29
Updated: 2020-04-26
Packaged: 2021-02-20 12:29:13
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 21
Words: 31,668
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22017406
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Triangle_Goddess/pseuds/Triangle_Goddess
Summary: Since the fall of Pariah Dark, Danny's been running around the clock trying to reform the Ghost Zone with his wife Valerie. Being the King has it's ups and down. With the power, he's been stuck in the Zone for five years, working practically nonstop. Because of that, he misses the Battle of New York, and feels bad that he couldn't join in on the action. So he and Fury strike a deal.
Relationships: Danny Fenton/Valerie Gray
Comments: 65
Kudos: 262





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to actualdannyfenton on tumblr for commissioning this! Without you I probably never would have finished it

**Prologue**

**5 Years Ago**

Danny hacked up blood as he blinked slowly, trying to clear his vision. He was on the ground, nose dripping sideways down his face. There was smoke and ash in the sky, making him sick to his stomach, and the swirls of the green sky only made it worse.

He coughed once more before placing his hands under him and pushing. The world tilted into focus despite the jackhammer in his brain. He looked around.

Clockwork was a master with both the staff and a sword, using both in perfect harmony to defeat the skeletons that seemed to come with no end. Though, that wasn't a surprise. There must be trillions of bodies buried on Earth, there was certainly no shortage. He also saw Dani and Frostbite tag teaming it against the Fright Knight. All of them were fighting dirty, especially Dani, but it was somehow graceful, like a dance of death. Despite the carnage, there was a semblance of beauty, and Danny didn't know how to feel about that.

Others were fighting too. Valerie, whom he had married two years prior, Sam and Tucker who fought tooth and nail not only for each other but for the world that wasn't theirs, along with the people that did call the Zone a home. Skulker, Ember, Amorpho, and so many others fought against the army of skeletons, all taking Danny's side as best as they could. They had fought harder against Danny, and he knew he couldn't blame them, but there was something hesitant about their movements despite the fact that they were all on the same side.

As he finally made it to one knee, he was suddenly knocked to the side. He bounced once before finally settling. A groan escaped his lips as he blinked up at the still swirling sky.

However, the groan soon turned into a small scream of pain as he was pulled up into the air by his hair. He kicked his feet and grabbed the massive hand that had pulled him off of the ground.

He stared defiantly into Pariah's red, glowing eyes. They were filled with nothing but rage and hatred for anything and everyone that defied him. He hated the living, and he hated the ghosts that were somewhat immune to his control, but most of all he hated the beings who were both.

"Today, halfa," he said, spitting the words at Danny, "today both of your halves die."

As Pariah lifted his other hand up, Danny reacted without thinking. The cold was running up his fingertips and spine before he realized what had happened. One last burst of strength, and he was lying on the ground next to Pariah, who was staring in shock as the ectoplasm-infused spear glowed brightly, dripping with Pariah's ectoplasm. Danny looked down at his hand. The evidence was there. Frost and frozen ectoplasm stuck to his entire forearm, but the look on Pariah's face as he faded away was worth it.

All of his allies surrounded him as the last of Pariah drifted away. Danny settled down on his knees. Valerie came up behind him, putting a gloved hand on his shoulder. He couldn't help it. He leaned into it, into her, closing his eyes and sighing deeply. It was done.

They had won.

* * *

When Danny opened his eyes again, he wasn't where he was a second ago. He was in a bed that wasn't his, in a room that wasn't is, but sitting next to him was the wife that was his.

"Hey, Tiger," she said. She was still in her Red Huntress gear. It was ripped and shredded, but Valerie didn't seem to mind. She was just happy to see him, somewhat alive and in one piece.

"Hey, you," he said back. His voice was raspy and dry, and she pressed a glass of water into his hand. He sat up and sipped it.

"Pariah is dead. For good," she said.

"I killed him."

He remembered everything. He was kind of hoping that he wouldn't.

"Yeah, but he deserved it. He was literally about to kill you, Danny. And after you, he would have killed everybody else."

"Yeah, I know, but...It's just...I've never killed anybody before. I don't like it."

"Well, let's hope that this is the last time you have to do this. Now come on, we have to get you cleaned up."

Danny nodded and sat up, placing the glass of water on the nightstand by the bed. Then he followed Valerie.

She led him to a big shower, where a new suit was waiting for him. He glanced at it, then in the mirror.

"Holy shit," he said.

"Yeah, you got fucked up out there. Probably more than the rest of us to be honest."

Valerie was probably right. He had streaks of dried blood going every direction on his face, all coming from the gash in his forehead and the bloody nose he had gotten earlier. He had a massive black eye, and his ribs were bandaged tightly. Now that he saw the bandages, he could feel the dull pain. It wasn't bad. He didn't notice the pain until he started thinking about it, and that would probably be the first thing that healed.

"Get cleaned up, then meet us out front," Valerie told him. He nodded, kissed her cheek, and started stripping.

The bath was relaxing and warm, and he didn't realize how tense his body was until he unclenched all of his muscles. He knows he just woke up, but he could honestly go back to sleep again. He wouldn't mind. He's sure Valerie would, though, so instead of doing that he started scrubbing.

The clear water was soon stained green due to the dried ectoplasm he cleaned off of his face and body, but he was still out in fifteen minutes or so. He had no sense of time, so it could have been five, or even thirty. But fifteen sounded good.

Before putting it on, he held the suit up. It was really cool. Instead of the plane white D on his chest, it was a blazing green P, since he had stopped going by Danny Phantom years ago. Now it's just Phantom.

It was in the middle of a white background, that made a pizza shape from his shoulders to his belt, which was still white. He had new boots and gloves, which was nice. His thermos was the same one he had always used, but there was a new air in the Zone. Even his exhausted self could tell. It was lighter than it had ever been before, and he was ready to start anew.

He left the thermos there.

After he brushed his teeth and gave himself a once-over in the mirror, he stepped out and headed to the front. Valerie knew he had a tendency to get lost though, so she had asked a maid to guide him.

The halls were decked out with burnt paintings, large suits of armor, and other treasures and such. The hallways they went down led them into a throne room, and then everything clicked in his head, and the only thing that kept him from freaking out was the fact that Valerie hadn't. Whatever was about to happen next, he knew that she would be with him every step of the way.

The maid led him to the large double doors, where two guards opened it.

Music and cheering is what greeted him, along with his friends and wife. Clockwork, despite being a baby, was absolutely beaming at him. So was Frostbite, but Frostbite always beamed at him.

Sam and Tucker were clapping for him on stage, and standing next to them was Valerie and Dani, who surged forward. She had gotten bigger, but hadn't seemed to notice considering she still shot at him like a bullet every time she saw him.

Once Dani let go, he gave everyone a hug, and gave Valerie a kiss.

Then Clockwork spoke.

"Attention, residents of the Ghost Realm, hear me!"

Despite the large, endless crowd, every single one of them became quiet, giving their full attention to Clockwork.

"Today, the tyrant known as Pariah Dark has been defeated!" An eruption of cheers came. It was so loud, so thunderous that Danny could feel it in his bones. Clockwork held up a hand, and the crowd was silent once more. "We have a hero to thank, Daniel Fenton! Half human, half ghost, and an all righteous being who fights for the people. Today, it is my privilege to crown him king."

Somewhere in the back of Danny's mind, he remembered Clockwork telling him about how, if one king is killed, then the one who killed him take their place, but nothing really quite connected until now. He killed Pariah. He is king.

Danny smiled at the crowd as Clockwork let them cheer some more, but inside, his stomach was churning.

"We'll help you, Great One," Frostbite whispered to him. Danny nodded, and his smile became a little less forced.

"There are no longer poisonous artifacts like the Crown of Fire or Ring of Rage. They have been destroyed, for they were too powerful for any one king to wield. But we have with us, a Crown of Ice, and the Cape of the People. Each stitch was made from a piece of clothing from out allies who fought with us on this day to defeat the greatest evil that ever lived, died, and ended."

Clockwork turned to him, and looked at the ground. Danny got the idea, and knelt down to one knee. Frostbite came forward and placed the Crown of Ice over his head, where it sat perfectly, like it was meant for him. Like him becoming king was his endgame after all.

Then Clockwork floated behind him, holding up the cape. It was black on the outside, white on the inside, and had a bright green, swirling design along the edges. He hooked it on with two pieces of shoulder armor, which obviously came from Dora's kingdom. He'd recognize their handiwork anywhere.

"Rise, Daniel," Clockwork said. Danny listened, and when he looked back at the crowd, they seemed louder than before. Despite his aching body protesting, he stood up tall and proud. He would serve the Zone and his world, just like he had always done.

"Meet you new king," Clockwork said, gesturing towards Danny. The cheering continued.

He had killed Pariah.

He was the Ghost King now.


	2. Chapter 1

**Present Day**

"We have to do something about the influx of ghosts we've received," the head Observant said.

"And we will, but there's also a reason this is happening," Danny said. He was tired. Since his coronation five year ago, he and Valerie have stayed in the Zone, rebuilding it. The first thing he did was make this council, which consisted of the head Observant, Clockwork, Frostbite, Wulf, Dora, Valerie, and himself. He had asked Dani, but she said no. She was still on her trip around the world, and while she had been to every continent, she liked to go back and visit her favorite countries. Her favorite was Japan for Pokemon, but her favorite cuisine was from Vietnam.

"There's been an alien invasion," Clockwork said.

"I'm sorry, _what?"_ Danny asked. His eyes were wide, and in all his years spending time with ghosts, he never expected the idea of aliens to come up. He most certainly wasn't jealous about the idea of aliens, which are from space. He most certainly wasn't thinking about the fifteen bucks Tucker now owed him.

"Do you know who Thor is?" Clockwork asked. Danny shook his head. "He is the Norse God of Thunder, son of Odin, and half-brother to Loki, the God of Mischief."

"Well, what does that have to do with anything?"

"Loki is the one who led the attack, Daniel. For this." Clockwork banged his staff on the floor once and an image of a glowing, blue cube flickered to life in the middle of the table.

"This is the Tesseract. It holds great, cosmic power, which is, evidently, what Loki wanted."

"Why was I not notified about this?" Danny asked. He almost sounded angry. His duty wasn't just to the Ghost Zone, after all. It was to Earth as well. Sure, he hadn't been there in a while, but nothing has happened. For once everything was going pretty much perfect on the side of catastrophic disasters.

"Because you weren't needed," Clockwork continued. "A band of heroes came together and defeated Loki and his alien army."

"Band of heroes?" Danny asked. "What are they called?"

"The Avengers."

Danny nodded, thinking for a moment. There was no way he could be in the Zone and with Earth at all times. And if there were now superheroes out there, maybe he could befriend them. Ghosts and humans had never really gotten along before, but maybe if the world saw that Danny was able to make friends with them, that would change. There could be an alliance of sorts between worlds. Hell, maybe even ghosts and humans could live in peace together.

"Oh, no," Valerie said next to him. "He's got an idea."

"Yeah, but not a bad one," Danny defended himself. "What if...What if we befriend them?" He asked.

"I beg your pardon?!" the Observant said. "Why would we want to be friends with them? They're just a bunch of filthy humans."

"Did you forget you were talking to two of them?" Danny asked. His voice was low, and cold and he stared down the Observant. Nobody batted an eye, except for the Observant.

"N-no, my king. I apologize. However, I still stand by my belief. This cannot end well for either world."

"I don't know," Frostbite said. "I'm rather curious as to see where this goes. Maybe we can achieve peace between humans and ghosts. Who not better to lead the charge than one who is both?"

Danny swelled up inside. Frostbite had been one of his mentors for the longest time, and to have any kind of validation from him assured Danny that this was the right thing to do.

"How would we do this, though?" Dora asked. "Plus, aren't there government organizations who were made to get rid of ghosts? Experiment on us?"

"I would start out with a peace message to the President, probably. If there's a new team of heroes out there he's probably got them in his back pocket. Plus, America has a big footprint in the world. Whether or not that footprint is a good thing doesn't matter right now. What matters is, if we get the United States government to make a peace treaty, we could probably get the other countries to do so as well."

" _Are you sure about this?"_ Wulf asked in his usual Esperanto. Danny nodded, and Wulf smiled at him, nodding as well.

"I do not think there is anything we can say or do to stop him from reaching out," Clockwork said, "But nevertheless, we should take a vote."

"Those in favor of trying to befriend the humans," Danny said. He, Valerie, Frostbite, Wulf, and Clockwork raised their hands. Dora and the Observant did not.

"I will make contact with them tonight," Danny said. "Meeting adjourned."

* * *

"Do you honestly think this is the right thing?" Valerie asked him later.

"I think we have to try. I can't be here and on Earth all the time. Hell, I haven't even _seen_ Earth since the war. If they need me, and I can help, then that makes all of this diplomacy worth it. I just...I just can't help it."

"You feel guilty, don't you?" Valerie asked.

"Yeah, a little," Danny said. "When I first became king, I promised myself I would protect the Zone and Earth and I haven't even tried to go back. And I know it's because we've been busy with the rebuilding, but...An entire alien invasion by some mythological god? I should have known about it, at least."

"I understand, Danny. I just don't want you to beat yourself up about it. Besides, any one of them could have let you know, and they chose not to. This isn't one hundred percent your fault, y'know."

"Yeah, I know. And I know that I can't change the past. But I can change the future."

Valerie smiled at him before fixing his crown and kissing him.

"Go get 'em, Tiger."

Danny nodded at her, gave her one last kiss on the cheek, and went into his study.

Tucker had been a life saver, technologically speaking, during the beginning of the rebuilding. He made a lot of normal devices compatible with the Ghost Zone so that they could communicate back and forth, wherever he was at in the Zone and wherever they were on Earth. He would be using his webcam to send this important message.

He sighed, drumming his fingers on his desk for a moment before finally opening his laptop.

"Let's do this."


	3. Chapter 2

Nick Fury was having a helluva time. Since the Battle of New York, he's been overly careful just in case more aliens came back. And the Council breathing down his neck didn't exactly help, either, but even so, he was going to do what he knew was right. Not what some old white people were gonna try to tell him to do.

He had every satellite and computer at his disposal looking for any weird, foreign messages, whether it came from a human or alien. His priority was protecting this Earth, and he was going to do everything in his power, and then some, to do so.

That's why, when S.H.I.E.L.D. intercepted a message from some white haired guy, his guard was higher than ever.

When he told Agent Hill to play the footage, a man with white hair, tan skin, and blazing green eyes entered on the screen. He almost seemed nervous, but judging from the small scars on his face and the crown on his head, Fury knew he had seen war. Eyes like that don't blaze without experience behind them.

" _Hello, uh, government people. To be honest, I'm not really sure who's going to get this video. But anyway, my name is King Phantom. I live in a realm called the Ghost Zone, where ghosts get to live their second life, and is only accessible by us._

_However, I haven't had my ear to the ground lately due to some rebuilding. I've only just heard about the alien invasion that happened in New York, and I would like to formally apologize that I wasn't there to help. I know that some new team, the Avengers, saved the day, but still._

_All of that being said, humans and ghosts haven't really had the best relationship. I would like to extend a hand of peace. That way, if you need me I'm there, or vise versa. With help from your side I can keep my ear to the ground a little more often, and help out when I'm needed._

_If you would like to make a meeting so we can talk face to face, call T-420-69 from Amity Park, Illinois. He'll help your technology be more compatible with ghosts._

_I hope to see you soon."_

The video cut out.

"Rewind it. Anytime is fine."

Hill did so without replying, and an image of the King Phantom shot up. His eyes were closed, and his hand was behind his neck. Behind him was a stone wall, with a large bookshelf on it. Some of the books he could read, but some of them were in a language that he had never seen nor heard of before. There was a window next to it. There was no glass, just a hole in the stone, suggesting that it was some sort of castle or hut. The scenery outside of it was odd. Instead of a blue sky with clouds, it was just a bright green, swirling mass.

On top of Phantom's head was a crown of ice. There was a bright emerald encrusted in the center of it, but other than that it was just your standard ice crown.

"What are you thinking, Sir?" Asked Hill.

"I'm thinking we call in the Avengers and see if they would like to be transdimensional ambassadors."

* * *

"So, are we really just going to believe that ghosts exist?" Steve asked.

"We just fought an alien army, do you really think that there isn't a possibility that they exist?"

"They do, Captain," Thor said. His voice was grave as he stared up at the picture of this King Phantom.

"There have been tales of this one, all over Asgard recently. On Asgard we call the undead draugrs. They curse everything in their path, and they reek of death. When faced with one draugr, we must tread lightly. However, when faced with its king," he gestured towards the screen, "we must not trust it. We must never be unarmed, and if we are to invite this _thing_ into Midgard, we need to have a plan to stop it.

This is the one that defeated Pariah Dark, who had ruled the realm of the undead for a millennium before being defeated by this one. He has great power. We must be ready for anything."

"Well, way to be a party pooper," Tony said, in a poor attempt to lighten the mood.

"I think Thor is right," Steve said. "At the very least we need to be ready in case things go sideways."

"How do we know this guy isn't a lunatic?" Natasha asked. "He seems to...Meh, to be a king."

"Ghost or not, this guy looks like he genuinely wants to help. I say we take him up on his offer and meet with him," Bruce said.

"Wish we could just go back to the aliens," Clint said with a sigh. Natasha rolled her eyes and signed something to him. It must have been snarky, because he looked mildly offended by it for a moment before going back to not caring.

"I'm going to contact him and set up a meeting with him through his contact in Illinois. I'll let you all know when it is. I expect at least most of you to show up," Fury told them. He was looking at the screen, his hands behind his back. He seemed tense, but determined nonetheless.

Hopefully this wouldn't bite him in the ass later.

* * *

"Jesus, it really hasn't changed at all, has it?" Danny asked as he held Valerie's hand. They had decided that they needed a small break, just for a few hours, and came to Amity. This would help them both relax, and take Danny's mind off of the message he sent the day before. They still had to be careful though, just in case his parents were driving around.

"I think it's really cool that you're trying to befriend your childhood crush."

Danny immediately turned bright red, sputtering as he said, "W-what? No. What childhood crush?"

"Big, blonde, and died in 1943. You really do like the older ones, don't you," Valerie said with a smirk.

"Please," Danny rolled his eyes. "You're only a few months older than me, that doesn't count."

"It does when I want to win arguments."

Danny just laughed, bumping into her playfully. He would honestly give anything to keep this moment alive for as long as possible. They had gone on dates plenty of times in the Zone, but there was something about being back on Earth that was just so refreshing, and having Valerie by his side made it even better.

"I didn't realize I would even miss this place, to be honest," she said. "When we were teenagers I always kind of hated it. But now, it just reminds me of the good old days, before the war and alien invasions."

"Yeah, I get what you mean," Danny said. "Patrol is definitely something I don't miss."

"I do kind of miss the cat and mouse aspect of our high school relationship. Parts of it were pretty fun."

"Ah yes, how could I forget the many times you tried to kill me," Danny said dryly, but there was amusement in his voice.

Valerie smiled up at him, laughing as she hugged his arm as they continued walking. The sun was hitting the skyline just right, and it lit up the sort of tall buildings beautifully.

"We should do this more often," he told her.

"Why do you think I've been trying to get you to do it for months now, Danny? Always cooped up in that stupid castle."

Before Danny could make a retort, Danny's phone buzzed in his pocket. He pulled it out and opened the message from Tucker that was blinking at him.

_From: Bitch Knickers_

_Hey man, shield is gonna call you in a second so be prepared. I just helped them update their tech. Tell Val I said hey_

"Tucker says hi," Danny told her. "And I've got to turn into Phantom for a second."

Valerie nodded and let go. Danny ducked into the alleyway across the street and transformed. Just in time too, because when he was just finishing up his phone started ringing.

He answered it, lifting the screen up to his face so that they could see him.

"King Phantom," said a bald guy with an eye patch. "My name is Nick Fury. We accept your request of peace. When would you like to meet up?"

"Uh, I'm available the day after tomorrow. Does that sound good?"

"My schedule is already cleared," he replied."I'll prep the Helicarrier for your arrival. It'll be over Manhattan, New York." Danny smiled.

"Cool. I'll see you then." He gave Fury a two-fingered salute and then hung up. He ran back to Valerie, as Fenton, and kissed her cheek.

"What was that about?"

Fury stared at the screen. He wasn't in his castle somewhere, he was back in the human world. Fury could tell by the sound of cars and the brick wall behind the ghost king. He was also using a cell phone, judging from the fact that this motherfucker thought it was okay to film himself vertically.

He sighed as he looked to Hill, who looked just as exasperated as him.

"What the fuck?"


	4. Chapter 3

"Valerie, I don't know about this. What if it's a ruse? What if they just want to use be to get to the Zone?"

"All the more reason I should come along. You're powerful, but there's no way you can take them all on by yourself. Besides, I haven't been to the human world in years before our date the other night."

"I know, but-"

"-Danny, do you honestly think that you're going to be able to convince me to stay?"

Danny opened his mouth, ready to argue, and then closed it, shaking his head, pouting. "No, but that doesn't mean I like it."

He really didn't. They were about to meet a superpowered team that was paired with the government. If this went sideways, he would rather take the brunt of it. But he also knew Valerie, and knew that there was no way he was ever going to change her mind.

"Relax, I've got my Red Huntress gear underneath my clothes."

She was royalty now, but she never dressed like it. Not unless it was absolutely necessary, and Danny kind of liked that about her. She didn't care about anybody's opinion but her own. She was wearing a pair of nice jeans, a loose sweater, and her favorite pair of earrings that he had gotten her for their anniversary three years prior. She was absolutely stunning. Danny never wanted to look away from her.

"We're gonna be late if you keep drooling all over me," she told him. He grinned at her, and offered her his arm.

"Shall we go, then, my queen?" He asked, a cheesy grin plastered all over his face.

"We shall," she replied, taking his arm.

With his free hand he created a portal, and they floated through.

* * *

"What is _that?"_ Steve asked, as he looked at one of the screens that showed the top of the Helicarrier. Some sort of green wormhole had opened up.

"Those are our guests," Fury told them. "Go and greet them. And play nice."

The six of them nodded and headed up. By the time they were on board, the wind whipping their hair around, the portal was gone. But in their stead was King Phantom, and a shorter, dark skinned, dark haired woman who looked like she would crush any of them without a second thought. She hadn't spoken to her yet, but Natasha knew that she liked this woman.

King Phantom was something entirely different from the version of him they saw on screen. He was tall, broad, and obviously muscular. He had a cloak that whipped around his ankles, and a firm expression on his face as he looked around.

"Hi there," Tony said, catching the attention of the two. "You must be King Phantom. And you are?" He asked the woman.

"Queen Phantom," she replied, "But you can call me Valerie."

"Pleased to meet you," Tony replied. "I'm Tony, and that over there is Steve, Bruce, Natasha, Clint, and Thor. We're the Avengers. Earth's Mightiest Heroes and all that."

"Ah, yes, so I've heard," Danny replied. "It's lovely to meet you all."

Danny looked over every single one of them, and the look he was getting from Thor didn't go unnoticed. He was nervous, on edge, but that was to be expected considering the stigma around ghosts. But the others seemed pretty chill. A little taken aback since he's actually real, but chill nonetheless. But then his eyes caught Bruce's behind his glasses and twitchy demeanor, and Danny lit up like a tree.

"Oh, Dr. Banner!" He said excitedly, walking over to him to shake his hand. "I'm a big fan of yours. I've used your research in so many of my own personal projects, and I couldn't have made the breakthroughs without you. What are you doing with a superhero group, though?" He asked, letting go.

"Don't you know...What I am?" He asked.

"My wife and I haven't been on Earth in like, five years, so I might be a little out of touch, I guess."

"What were you using his research for?" Natasha asked him.

"Space exploration," Valerie answered for him. "He's a big nerd. Wanted to be an astronaut when he got older."

"Valerie, I know we made no agreement on embarrassing things we could say but _oh my god,"_ Phantom said. Valerie just laughed at him.

"So, are we gonna get a grand tour, or what?"

* * *

Walking through the halls of the Helicarrier was kind of boring, but Danny supposed he couldn't complain. Especially since he got to talk with people like Captain _fucking_ America, and those two spies. He never thought he'd ever meet _a_ spy let alone two, so he was super excited about that.

Danny laughed at a joke that Clint made, and Natasha rolled her eyes. He had only been half listening, though. His mind couldn't help but wander. He started thinking about how, if all of this worked out between them, then there could be prosperity for his people, and the people the Avengers helped.

He really hoped it worked out.

"This room here is the central room, where S.H.I.E.L.D. monitors everything just in case there are any disasters we need to attend to."

"Oh, wow," Phantom said, looking around. He's never seen so many computers in one place before, but it was still so fascinating. Not even Tucker had this many. Which was saying something considering he had computers stored in Danny's old apartment.

"Welcome, your Highness."

Danny turned, and came face to face with none other than the big man himself, Nick Fury. He held out his hand, which Danny took, and shook.

"Cold hands you got there," he commented. Danny shrugged.

"They're actually a little warm. I'm kinda nervous to be honest."

"Bad experience with the government?" Fury asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Something like that," he replied with a shrug.

Danny felt an uncomfortable clenching in his chest, but was thankfully saved by Val. His beautiful, wonderful Val. All she did was loop her arm in his, but it was all of the grounding he needed to keep his mind off of the Guys in White.

Fury's face was the same. There wasn't even a twitch, but Danny had a feeling that he knew exactly what Danny was talking about.

"Well, I assure you we're nothing like that. Not to our friends, anyway."

"That's not as comforting as you think it is," Danny said dryly. Behind him, Tony let out a bark of laughter and clapped him on his shoulder.

"Oh, you and I are going to get along great."

"I'm down for anarchy if you are."

Tony grinned at him. The kind that went from ear to ear, and Danny was able to relax a little. If the Avengers had someone like Tony on their team then it wouldn't be so bad after all.

"We would do better making peace with a bilgesnipe," Thor said, spitting venom in Danny's direction. Everybody looked at him, including Valerie, who was squeezing Danny's arm in an unbreakable grip.

"I'm sorry?" Danny said, confused.

"You filthy draugrs always think you can take anything you want. You leave destruction and misery in your path, and are not to be trusted. _Especially_ those who rule them.

"There's plenty of stories of you back on Asgard. How you mercilessly slayed Pariah Dark. You're powerful, but I promise you, I am even more so. And as the son of Odin, Prince of Asgard, I will not let you terrorize Midgard."

Danny's brain couldn't think of a good come back. He was caught up on the word _draugr._ What was that? And why did Thor think he was one of them?

Thankfully, Valerie came to his rescue, like the defensive firecracker she was.

"Listen here, you overgrown Ken doll," she said, stepping in front of Danny. She was a lot shorter than Thor, but much more intimidating in all respects. "If you threaten my husband one more goddamn time I will have the whole fucking Ghost Zone on your ass. You don't get to make threats when you don't even know him. He has _saved_ the Ghost Zone, and he has _saved_ Earth, because you can bet your ass that Pariah would have come here next.

If you ever threaten him again, you will be dealing with me personally." Valerie was right under his nose now, backing him up against a wall with her attitude. Her voice dropped lower as she spoke again. "I promise you, I will not be as merciful as Danny was when he beat Pariah."

Without waiting for another word, she calmly walked away, and stood by Danny again. Everybody but Danny, Fury, and Natasha were wide eyed and staring at her. Natasha decided that she and Valerie would be best friends.

Danny smiled down at Valerie. Yeah, he didn't need her to fight his battles for him, but he sure did enjoy it when she did. He honestly couldn't think of a better queen to be by his side.

"Do you have any questions, your Highness?" Fury asked him, subtly changing the subject.

"Just one," Danny said, holding up his index finger. "What the absolute fuck is a _draugr?"_


	5. Chapter 4

Apparently, according to Thor, a draugr is a Norse mythological undead creature that have super strength and smell like actual, literal death. They usually eat people or drive them crazy. They hang out in graves, but also like to wander, which is just really unfortunate in general.

This explains the uneasiness that Thor feels around Danny, even after Danny explained everything to him. Danny knows why Thor is mixing up ghosts and draugrs together, because after all, draugrs _are_ ghosts. Or, at least, they used to be.

In the Ghost Zone they are known as the Rotten. They are ghosts that either got stuck in a world that wasn't the Zone, or if they just refused to go back, and they slowly go crazy and they slowly become bloodthirsty. So Danny can understand where the confusion is. But considering that they're just hunks of bone and a little flesh, and smell like _death,_ Danny thought Thor would give him a little more credit. He knows he smells sometimes, but never as bad as a Rotten.

Once they become Rotten, there's really no salvaging them. They are no longer ghosts, and they need to be put down. All of those cryptids in the woods or in a real life haunted house are typically a Rotten. They can die again, and when they do it's thankfully for good. Usually fire or ectoblasts do the trick. Danny hated having to take care of them, but he also understood that it was nobody's fault. Things just happened, and he needed to roll with the punches.

Danny leaned against the table that sat in some conference room that they had moved to. Both parties had questions for each other, and they were both willing to give answers to most of them.

"Where have you been for the past five years?" Natasha asked him.

"Valerie and I have been in the Ghost Zone, rebuilding. It all started when the old king, Pariah Dark, somehow broke out of his sarcophagus and started going on killing sprees and terrifying ghosts. According to Clockwork and Frostbite he was never satisfied with just the Zone, he would have moved his forces to this world in no time. Since he was the king, ghosts couldn't help but listen to him, unless they were powerful enough to fight against it."

"So it's just been the reconstruction process of an entire dead realm for five years?" Clint asked.

"Yeah, pretty much. But what about you guys? I heard from the Council that there was an alien invasion?"

"Loki, Thor's brother-" Steve started.

"-Adopted!" interrupted Thor.

"-led an army of Chitauri aliens into New York. Fury brought us all together and we beat them."

"That's cool. I've always wanted to see an alien. Oh, that reminds me, Tucker still owes me fifteen bucks."

"What for?" Clint asked.

"Aliens are real. Anyway, what are your powers and stuff? Humans are strong but there's gotta be something to bring you all specifically to the table to deal with an alien invasion."

"I'm a genius, and Iron Man, Steve is...patriotic? Those two are spies, Bruce turns into a giant, green rage monster, and Thor has a hammer that can summon lightning," answered Tony.

"Can I have a hammer like that?"

"Not unless you want to rule Asgard, draugr," Thor replied.

"Kidding, kidding. I've got plenty to deal with just ruling my own kingdom."

"What about you?" Bruce asked. "What are your powers?"

"Oh, that's a laundry list in and of itself. Let's see, I've got basic ghost abilities that all ghosts have, like invisibility, intangibility, flight, strength, overshadowing, and basic ectoblasts," he said, holding out his hands that was now glowing a bright green. "But then there are some that have way more powers than that. And I'm one of them. For instance, there are some ghosts that have special cores. Kind of like Pokemon, except we're real. I've got an ice core, so I also have ice powers. Oh, and I can also make portals, and I have this thing called the ghostly wail, where I just scream at enemies until they're incapacitated, but that one take a lot of energy to do, so I don't do it very often."

He looked around. Valerie had been counting all of them on her fingers, nodding to herself. Everybody else looked stunned.

"How come you have certain powers that other ghosts don't?" Steve asked.

"I'm just naturally a more powerful ghost. Especially since I'm king, too, so everything is turned up to like, eleven." Danny wasn't going to tell them he was a halfa, and _that's_ why he's overly powerful. Hell, he forgets about half his powers most of the time. It was a half truth, and it seemed to satisfy them, thank goodness.

"...Wow...With that much power have you ever considered taking over the world?" Tony asked. This question was to be expected, but it still made Danny a little shook. The bluntness of the question almost took him by surprise.

"Eh, no, not really. Just the thought of it makes me feel bad. It goes against my entire being."

"What do you mean?" Bruce asked.

"Well," Danny said, thinking for a moment. "All ghosts have an obsession. The thing they obsessed over the most when they were human, or it was something that grew inside of them _after_ they died. Skulker, he's a good friend of mine. His obsession is hunting. The Fright Knight's obsession is protecting whoever rules, so in this case me. He's like my own personal bodyguard. My obsession is protecting.

"For a ghost to go against their obsession is them going against their very being. Their reason for existing. If I were to do the whole world domination thing, I would probably die in the process. Well, not die. I'm already dead. I guess...Cease to exist?"

"What is a core? Biologically, I mean," Tony asked. "You mentioned yours was ice, and that gave you cryokinesis."

"It's like a ghost heart. It sits right next to where a normal heart would be."

Danny loved talking about ghost physiology but he knew he had to be careful. He couldn't give them everything. Like how his is right next to an actual human heart. How the ice from the core has affected his very being, how ice is in his veins all the time. He doesn't feel comfortable talking about how much a ghost core affects the ghost itself.

"Why are you trying for peace now?" Natasha asked. "Why not sooner, before the Battle of New York?"

"The Ghost Zone has never been more peaceful. I finally have the opportunity to take a step back every now and then. The reconstruction of everything is pretty much done, we just have to put in the final touches. Plus I didn't even know superheroes existed until like, four days ago. So there's that."

"You seem oddly calm giving us all of this information. What makes you think we won't exploit it for ourselves? Maybe invade your kingdom?" Clint asked.

"I apologize, but that wasn't a threat, was it?" Danny asked. Valerie put a hand on his thigh. The sign for _get your temper under control, I'm freezing.._

"No threat, just wondering," Clint said, noticing the drop in temperature once he asked that question. If this guys reason for existing was protecting, it was probably best of him if he didn't ask if he could invade the kingdom.

"Well, you guys just fought off an alien invasion. And you can't make your own portals to the Zone, only a ghost can."

_And some certain Fentons, but we don't talk or think about them ever,_ Danny thought. _Not after what they did when they found out._

"How did you all become superheroes? Well, except for Steve, I already know about you."

"I used to be a weapons developer but then I got kidnapped by some terrorists and got this," Tony pointed to the blue circle in his chest, "I stopped the weapons and went into clean energy, and then Obadiah Stane, who didn't like that decision at all, tried to kill me so my girlfriend Pepper killed him first."

"I was in a lab accident and broke Harlem," Bruce answered, sheepishly rubbing his neck.

"Ex-carnie," Clint said. "I picked her up along the way after I joined SHIELD," he pointed thumb at Natasha.

"I was banished here on Midgard without my powers so that I could learn a lesson, but then Loki started messing Asgard up and I had to return. Then I came back once Loki started wreaking havoc here."

"Cool," Danny answered. "That sounds way better than my origin story."

"What is your origin story?" Clint asked. Danny just stared at him for a moment, thinking it was a joke. And when he saw that Clint was being serious, he answered.

"I died, dude."

"Oh, yeah," Clint said. "Forgot about that."

"Anyway, how did you and Phantom meet?" Natasha asked Valerie, changing the subject.

"Oh, we went to high school together," she answered.

"High school? What was that for you, like ten years?" Tony asked.

"Something like that."

"The you must have recently died, then," Tony said, doing the math in his head.

"I mean, sure, if ten years is in the realm of recent," Danny answered.

"Jesus christ," Bruce muttered under his breath. "You must have been just a kid then. What happened, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Oh, um," Danny said, rubbing the back of his neck. "My parents were ghost hunters, and they had used the basement as a lab to invent ghost hunting stuff. There was an accident, and I got electrocuted with ectoplasm. Usually that would kill someone permanently but I guess growing up around that stuff I had some immunity to the effects. Still, it hurt like a bitch, though."

Everyone but Danny noticed the words he chose. What did he mean by _usually kill someone permanently?_ Wasn't he dead? You can't just un-die. At least, not to any knowledge that any of the other Avengers had. But, they all collectively decided not to bring it up. Obviously this was a...sensitive topic for him, so if he didn't want to go into full detail they weren't going to press.

They talked for a few more hours after Natasha promptly changed the subject. They discussed politics, plans, favorite cheeses, but that one was more by accident than anything, and hey scheduled visits with each other. The next time they would meet, Danny would take them on a tour of the Zone, which everyone was more or less excited for. Especially the scientists in the group, as they wanted to see ghost technology and ghost culture.

Danny talked about his mentors, Frostbite and Clockwork, and his friends, Sam, Tucker, Dora, and a few other newer ghosts. Overall, the meeting was successful, and all of them were satisfied with everything by the end of the long discussions.

By the time they left the sky was dark out, and Valerie was trying to hold back her yawns. Danny smiled at her, wrapping his arm around her.

"Well, I think this is where we say goodbye for now," Danny said, opening up a portal with his free hand.

"We'll see you in a couple of weeks," Steve said, giving him a small wave. Danny and Valerie returned it before leaving through the portal, a small chorus of goodbyes at their heels.

They stepped out into their bedroom, and Valerie promptly fell face first into the bed. Danny laughed as he let the white rings wash over him, turning him into a living, breathing being. He threw on a pair of shorts and climbed into bed with Valerie, who was too tired to change into actual pajamas.

"I think...This is really gonna work out for the best," Danny said. He looked up at the ceiling, smiling to himself. He didn't need Valerie to respond, he was just thinking aloud. But Valerie did anyway, but squeezing his hands encouragingly.

Then she fell asleep, and after a few moments, Danny did too.

He really did think this was a good idea. There was no need to worry, right?

Right?


	6. Chapter 5

The next day, Danny told Sam and Tucker everything that had happened, and the day after that, they forced their way into the Zone and somehow got Fright Knight to escort them to the castle, where they waited for Danny until he was done with his meeting with Tulip, a brand new ghost who had a very tragic end. But if she wasn't afraid of spiders then Danny knew which ghost she could hook Tulip up with. So at least that was a plus.

"So, that's it? You guys are just best friends?" Sam asked, leaning back in her chair.

"I wouldn't say _best_ friends, but we get along fine," Danny answered with a shrug. "The meeting went relatively well. Thor has some beef with me because I'm a ghost but other than that we all get along so far."

"Oh, did you get an autograph from Tony Stark?" Tucker asked, not looking up from his tablet.

"Why would I need an autograph from him?" Danny asked.

"Um, to give to me, obviously," Tucker said, with a hint of fake hurt in his voice. He looked up at him, putting a hand to his chest. "Danny, I'm wounded. How can you not be constantly thinking about gifts for your best friend?"

"Because there are things in this world that are more important to me than you," Danny said, deadpan. Sam busted out laughing, and Tucker just feigned hurt again, but he knew it was all in good fun. Hell, in the beginning he was helping Danny with the technology aspect of the reconstruction. He knows how busy Danny is, and how beneficial this alliance between humans and ghosts could be.

"I still think it's kinda cool you're doing this," Sam said, returning them to the topic. "Who's that redhead, though? She looks super badass."

"Oh, Natasha? She's pretty cool. Clint told me she knows how to kill a guy with a paperclip in almost two hundred different ways."

"I think I'm in love," Sam said, swooning overdramatically. Danny chuckled at her antics, leaning back in his chair. He hadn't realized how much he missed this. Missed _them._ It was refreshing to see them again. He loved his friends in the Zone, but he needed his best friends every now and then to remind him that half of him is still human, and he needs to take it easy every now and then.

"Anyway, how's Amity been since my absence?" Danny asked, changing the subject.

"It's been pretty quiet. Ever since you became king there's only been the occasional ghost hanging out, but it's usually nice ones that are there by accident," Tucker explained. "There was one with flower power that we met last week."

"Oh, Tulip?" Danny asked. "I had a meeting with her earlier, new ghost and all. She seems sweet. Tragic backstory, though."

"Yikes."

"Yeah. Anyway, I'm glad Amity hasn't been bad. It's weird, though. Why would the ghosts suddenly stop coming all the time? There's a bunch of them that can make portals and stuff."

"I think it has less to do with the fact that you demolished your parent's portal and more with the fact that you're the king," Sam said. He hand was on her chin as she tried to form her thoughts. "Look at it this way. Pariah was a tyrant. He was cruel, scary, greedy, and just downright evil. So it's only natural, with the king having such a negative presence in the Zone, that it would affect the ghosts who live here. They attacked and were greedy. On a much smaller level, sure, but they were.

But Danny, ever since you became the king they're a lot happier and more subdued. They're calm, and collected, and are more willing to help each other. They're taking on more of your characteristics, versus Pariah's pre-end."

Danny and Ticker thought for a moment, absorbing all of it. It made sense. The time the ghosts started chilling out was right after Danny took over the throne. He never thought he would be good friends with Skulker, or Fright Knight, but he has friendly talks with them all of the time now. Skulker hasn't had the urge to murder him in years.

"That...That makes sense," Danny said. "I can't believe I never noticed it before."

"To be fair, you have been pretty busy," Sam said. "And you're just naturally a dumbass."

"Oh, so _that's_ how I became friends with you," Danny shot back, unable to hide his grin. Sam mirrored it, and rolled her eyes.

Before Tucker could butt in, the door opened, and in walked Valerie.

"Hey, guys!" She said excitedly. "How are you?"

There was a chorus of "goods" from the trio. Danny stood up and walked over to her, taking off her jacket and placing a kiss on her forehead.

"Jeez, get a room you two," Tucker said.

"This _is_ our room," Valerie replied as she kissed Danny. Tucker started making barfing sounds, and Danny and Valerie, the power couple that they are, lifted their middle fingers up at him in unison without stopping. Sam laughed loud and long. The kind that came from the stomach, that only happened when Tucker was so egregiously disrespected. Watching it had always been her favorite pastime.

Danny and Valerie pulled away and walked back to the table, defiant smirks on their faces.

"I'm hurt," Tucker said. "You hurt me. I hope you're happy with yourselves."

"Oh, plenty," Valerie said. Sam gave her a high five.

"But seriously, Danny, you should introduce us to the Avengers at some point. I wanna get to know this Natasha," Sam said.

"Oh, she's amazing," Valerie agreed.

The conversation melted into one about the Avengers, and how cute Thor's hair is, and how Natasha knows hundreds of ways to kill a man with just a pair of nail clippers. They fell back into their old, easy going rhythm. Danny forced himself to relax his body, and forced himself not to worry about anything.

He really, really needed this.

"Agent Hill," Fury said as she walked over to him.

"Director Fury," she said.

"What did you find?"

"He's from Amity Park Illinois, and was mostly telling the truth."

"Mostly?"

"He did die ten years ago, but not all the way. Shortly after his little lab accident a super emerged out of nowhere. Literally the next day. He called himself Danny Phantom."

"This dumb motherfucker," Fury said, giving a small chuckle. "Using his name. How did nobody find out?"

"Oh, they all did. Except for his parents. The whole town decided it was best to keep it a secret from them."

"Why is that?"

"They're ghost hunters, sir. They've been seen multiple times shooting at Phantom when he was just starting out, and they have been known to say that once they catch him, he'll be torn apart 'molecule by molecule.' According to eyewitnesses, they were being dead serious. No pun intended."

"What are the Fentons up to now?"

"They still experiment and build ghost hunting devices, but the portal was destroyed years ago, shortly after they found out about their son."

"What did they do to him?" Fury asked. There was a hint of tightness to his voice. His words were more crisp, and Hill already knew he wasn't going to like what he heard next.

"Well, sir," she said, trying to keep her voice even. When she had dug up this information it almost made her sick. "He was in his parent's custody for almost six months before being taken by the Guys in White."

"Makes sense. Last I checked, though, they were no longer in commission."

"They stopped operating shortly after Danny escaped. He had help from his friends back home who knew his secret. Anyway, here's the file with all of the information on him. There's also some video footage in there."

"You sound angry, Hill," Fury said calmly as he took the file from her.

"When you watch what happens in there, you will be too."

Fury nodded as he tucked the file under his arm. "Thank you, agent. You're dismissed."

Hill nodded, and promptly left the room. Fury watched her go, listened to her footsteps receding, before returning to his own room to look at everything.

This was going to be a long night.


	7. Chapter 6

It was windy, and the skies were dark with rain clouds when the green portal opened up. The Avengers, all suited up, stared at it. They were excited to see Phantom again, and were excited to visit his home.

However, what came out of the portal wasn't Phantom or Valerie. It was a giant wolf creature, with black fur and glowing green eyes. He walked over to them and handed them a note.

_Hey guys,_

_I'm sending an escort because I'm stuck in a meeting. This is Wulf. He speaks Esperanto, and he'll be your escort. You can trust him._

_-King Phantom_

Tony looked from the note to Wulf, and gave the creature a thumbs up. Wulf grinned, and it was adorable. Wulf turned away from them, walking towards the portal. He stopped right next to it and turned around, waving them through.

Steve was the first one that went in. He put his hand through first, surprised from the coldness. But he was used to the cold. This wasn't going to be a big deal.

On the other side, it was nothing like Steve had ever imagined.

The skies were a beautiful, swirling green. The ground he stood on was purple. There wasn't any grass or trees, but there was a garden at the foot of the large castle, that had flowers sprouting from it. A small green woman with pink petals for hair and soft yellow eyes looked up at him. She smiled and waved before floating over.

"Hello, my name is Tulip. How may I assist you and your friends?" She asked. Steve looked behind him, not having noticed the rest of them coming over. Wulf stepped forward and...Spoke to her? What came out of his mouth was just a series of statics and clicks, but Tulip seemed to know exactly what he said anyway. She waved at them before going back to the garden, willing flowers to grow with her glowing hands.

"She seems nice," Bruce said, moving closer towards the group.

"What was that static, though?" Clint asked. "It wasn't my hearing aids, was it?"

"No, we heard it too," Natasha answered. "Maybe some kind of...dead language?"

"Is _that_ why Wulf speaks Esperanto?" Tony asked. "That's so bad it's good."

"We are falling behind the draugr," Thor said. He most certainly did not look happy to be here. He was a little on edge, but willing to respect those in a kingdom that wasn't his.

Wulf led them through the large oak doors and into a huge throne room. Near the back of the room were two grand thrones, with a small crown sitting on one of them. There were guards floating here and there, talking and such. A couple of cooks and maids made their way through as well. But the one that stood out to them most was the one who was on a horse. He and his horse were covered head to toe in black armor, with purple fire coming from the knight's helmet. He looked at them with his piercing green eyes and trotted over to them.

"Weapons at the door," he said.

"Relax, we're friends with the king," Tony said. "We're the Avengers. Ambassadors of Earth?"

"Weapons," the knight said, his voice more menacing than last time, "at the door."

"Relax, it's more of a respect thing than anything. That's always been a rule here."

All six of them looked up at someone who looked eerily like the king. She had short white hair, blazing green eyes, and a similar skin tight outfit, with the same blazing green logo on her chest.

"Your Danny's friends, right? Name's Dani, nice to meet you."

She floated over to them, behind the table that a guard was standing behind.

"Uh, who are you?" Tony asked. "And why are you a smaller king?"

"Oh, Danny is my cousin."

"Then why do you have the same name?" Natasha asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Because we both have parents that are bad at picking names. Now, just leave the weapons, once you guys leave the castle you can have them back."

Dani seemed...trustworthy enough. Especially if she was related to the king, who was also apparently named Danny (which evidently explains why he decides to go by King Phantom. King Danny didn't have the same ring to it). So they complied. Steve gave the shield up, Clint his bow and arrows, Natasha her two pistols and one of her knives, and Thor's hammer. Tony walked over to the wall and stepped out of his armor, and watched as it folded itself into a suitcase.

"You don't have any?" Dani asked Bruce.

"Not one I can leave at the door," he answered.

"Wait...I think Danny told me about you. You're that gamma nerd guy. The one that destroyed harlem," she said, eyes widening.

"Well, y-yes, but I swear, I-"

"-how did you do it?" she asked, a giant grin spreading across her face. "When I saw the footage I was so amazed! Dude, you and me have to go one on one with me some time!"

"Ghost or not, I don't think you'll win that one."

Again, all of them turned to the one who spoke. It was a tall woman with shoulder length black hair and purple lipstick. She looked human.

"Come on, his royal high-horse is this way. He should be ready for you now."

The goth girl led them through a maze of hallways. Dani followed them, floating lazily above them. Halfway there they met up with a black guy with huge glasses, who only stopped talking to Tony after Sam, the goth, had threatened to break his kneecaps.

"You don't have to be so rude," he said. "I'm just a fan."

"Really, Tucker, I don't know if he noticed," Sam replied sarcastically. Tony chortled behind him, both at the two humans and Dani, who was asking Thor about his hair.

It was a solid ten minutes of walking before they finally made it to a very important looking room, where they could hear Danny inside.

"I don't care if you think this is a bad idea, we all voted on it!"

"But bringing them here? To our home? You are a worse king than Pariah!"

There was silence for a few moments, and Sam and tucker pressed their ears against the door to hear better.

"They will be here soon," Danny said. His voice was low and dangerously calm. "You _will_ treat them with respect, and you will trust that I am making the right decision. Am I understood, Observant?"

"Y-yes, my liege. I only demand cautiousness, which is not something you have shown throughout this whole ordeal."

"With Earth's Mightiest heroes I know it is not caution, but respect that they are to be treated with. Am I understood?"

"Y-yes, my liege."

"I don't think we need to wait any longer, Daniel," Clockwork said. "Sam, Tucker, Danielle, please come in. Don't keep our guests waiting."

Sam and Tucker sighed as they opened the door.

"How do you always know?" Tucker groaned.

"He's the master of time, idiot," Dani said, floating through the door.

The Avengers all clambered into the large room. It wasn't nearly as big as the throne room, but it was a decent enough size to hold all of them.

"Hi guys. Take a seat anywhere, and we can start talking. Uh, that's Dora, Frostbite, Clockwork, the head Observant, and you've already met Wulf."

The ghost appeared through the wall, a plate of snacks in his hand. Danny spoke to him in Esperanto for a moment, and Wulf shook his head, waved his hand, and laughed at what was presumably a joke from Phantom. Valerie waved to them, smiling as the took seats around the table, sandwiched in between the ghosts.

"Uh, hi," Clint said, looking between Frostbite and Clockwork.

"Hello, Clinton," Clockwork said. "The batteries in your hearing aids will die tomorrow. I suggest you get them replaced."

"W-how-?"

"He's the master of time," Danny explained. "Sees all, and all of that bullshit. Frostbite is the King of the Far Frozen. The ones I was telling you about when we met last."

"Oh, Great One, you flatter us by speaking of us. All good, I hope," Frostbite said, scratching his chin with his ice arm.

"Woah," Clint said, eyes wide

"Of course. I even spoke highly of your fleas."

Frostbite stopped scratching his chin and looked at Danny, who had a shit eating grin on his face.

"You need better material, Great One," he said, but there was no missing the smile Frostbite had one his face.

"Shall we get _started,"_ Observant said. Danny flashed him a look, and the Observant looked away.

"Is this the Council you told us about?" Steve asked.

"Yeah. I honestly really just wanted you to meet them, since I know all of you and the organization you're with. It's only fair."

"Strange, how you both are alive," the Observant said to both Steve and Tony, who were sitting next to Dora. "Both of you."

"Not necessarily," Clockwork said, his voice calm. He turned from a young man into an old man, but lost none of his charm. "After all, if that were true neither of them would be sitting in front of us, alive and breathing. They've still got business with the living."

"Observant," Phantom said, looking at him. His fingers were folded, and he held them in front of his mouth. Observant looked at him, and everyone could see the fear his one eye. "We are here for diplomacy. We are not here to question who should and should not have passed."

The Observant only nodded, looking away.

This was...A side of Danny they had never seen. Sure, they had met King Phantom, but they had never met _King_ Phantom. He was pretty laid back all the time from what they had seen, but here in this meeting room he had an air of authority that everyone was either to respectful of, or too fearful to fight.

"Don't worry about those two," Valerie said to the two heroes. "They always butt heads. Can never agree on anything."

"Hey, you should take the stick out of your ass," Dani told the Observant. He huffed with indignation.

"Dani, what are you still doing here?" Danny asked.

"I'm bored. And there are superheroes here. I never thought I would see Hulk face to face, it's pretty great. And Thor said I could braid his hair later."

"Oh, can I join you?" Dora asked excitedly.

Dani started chanting 'braid train' as she floated around the ceiling. Tucker and Sam joined in of course, as well as Clint and Tony.

Danny sighed. This was going to be a loooong meeting.

The meeting ended an hour later, and Danny was already feeling worn. He didn't like the Observant, and was glad when Clockwork finally said he had better things to do. He and the Observant had business together, and needed to have an important discussion. Danny knew he would have to meet up with them again later, but for now, he needed to not be in the same room as the Observant.

"Would you like to tour my lair?" Danny asked.

"I'm sorry, you're _what?"_ Clint asked, recoiling slightly.

"He means the castle. A ghost's home is called a lair," Valerie explained.

"Oh, okay," Clint said, relaxing. "Sure."

Danny stood up and adjourned the meeting, and said goodbye to everyone. The funny looks by the Avengers didn't go unnoticed.

"What language is that?" Tony asked. He wondered how Danny was able to make the static noise with his mouth.

"Ghost Speak," Tucker answered. "All ghosts inherently know it. It's not something that is learned."

"Oh. Cool, I guess."

"Hey, Danny, we're gonna head back," Sam said. "We have to work in a few hours."

"Do you need Wulf to take you?" Danny asked.

"Nah, Tucker's got his little doohickey. See you around, though." Sam and Tucker exchanged hugs with their favorite King before leaving through a man made portal.

"Well," Danny said, clapping his hands together and turning to the group of superheroes, "Let's get started, shall we?"

Danny led them through the maze of hallways, through the throne room, the dungeon that was in the middle of being refurbished, the processing center for new ghosts, and so much more the castle had to offer. None of them realized horses were able to turn into ghosts, and they didn't really know how to feel about it.

Once they were done with the castle, Danny took them on a tour through the Zone itself. Of course he exercised caution, and unless they lived here they were going to for sure get lost. The went by the frosty mountains that was the entrance to the Far Frozen, which Danny did not take them through. None of them were equipped for the cold, and even if they were there was still a chance they would get pneumonia or hypothermia. The cold was for ghosts only.

They did walk through Dora's kingdom, though, and he bought them each a small trinket of their choice from the vendors that littered the main street. After that, they strolled through a neighborhood of lairs, both big and small, like Poindexter's school and Skulker's Island. His had a garage attached to it, and inside was Ember and her band rocking out. He waved, and she flipped him off.

"Well, what do you think?" Danny asked, after they had explored the Zone for a few more hours. "I know the scenery isn't as nice as Earth, but we have some pretty neat things."

"It was amazing!" Tony said. "I never thought a parallel dimension was even possible. And you can move through both as freely as you want. It's beautiful."

"I'm glad you enjoyed yourself, Stark," Danny said with a grin. "I think that's already a lot for one day. I can't exactly show you a whole world in a few hours."

"Is your friend Wulf going to escort us again?" Natasha asked.

"No need," Danny said. "I can do it."

Danny moved in front of them and held out his hands. They glowed green for a moment, before he let the green energy flow forward, and forced it to swirl at a certain point, creating the portal. He held up a finger and stuck his head through.

"Yeah, this is your stop. After you," he said, standing next to it.

One by one they all marched through, exhausted but excited at the same time. It was all so incredible. They wondered how one ghost, no matter how powerful, was able to rule over it all.

Once the supes were all back on the Helicarrier, he said his goodbyes and closed the portal.

"That was a lot," he sighed. He had a lot of fun, but he was exhausted, and he didn't really know if he wanted to fly all the way back. So instead, he put his pinkies in his mouth and blew, letting out a high, shrill whistle. A few moments later a small green dog came bounding up to him.

After some mandatory kisses and snugs, Danny let Cujo down.

"Alright, grow."

Cujo did, and Danny only narrowly missed the large amounts of drool that fell from the dog's mouth. After some more mandatory belly rubs, Danny hopped onto Cujo's back and grabbed onto the collar.

"Alright, boy, let's go home."


	8. Chapter 7

The next week or so was long meeting after a long meeting. He would meet with Clockwork, with Frostbite, and most often, unfortunately, the Observant. They would start it early in the day in hopes of being able to leave early the sooner they finished, but those hopes were always in vain, and most days Danny got home only to find that Valerie was already fast asleep.

They shared a fucking bedroom but because of all of these things that needed to get finished and worked out, they had barely seen each other. He wanted to be around her more, because he loved her, and she wasn't mentally exhausting to be around. He could spend all day, every day with her for the rest of their lives and never get sick of being with her. She was the one person on any world he would love to be around like that.

He transformed, got dressed, and crawled into bed with her, wrapping his arms around her. He buried his face in her back and sighed, before slowly drifting off to sleep.

Danny woke up to an empty bed. This wasn't unusual, but his best mornings were always when he was able to wake up next to Valerie.

He yawned and sat up, stretching as he did so. Several of his bones popped, and he groaned. Recently he had been feeling more and more like a goddamn glow stick. But that was okay. It was for the good of the Kingdom or whatever.

He sighed as he got up and ready.

Ghosts didn't really have normal body odor like humans, and they never have to use the bathroom, which is why Danny had been surprised when he found that there was indoor plumbing in the castle when they had moved in. Clockwork explained that the lair changes to the needs of the ghost living in it. And since Danny and Valerie were human, it made accommodations accordingly.

The water pressure was absolutely amazing.

Danny sighed with relief as he stepped out of the shower, not bothering to look in the mirror. He had no interest in reminding of the origin of the scars that littered his torso. He grabbed a towel, and let the fog follow him as he stepped into the bedroom. He grinned.

"Hey, Val," he said, unable to hide the excitement in his voice.

"Hey, Tiger," She said, placing a cup of warm coffee in his hands. "I've got a surprise for you."

"Yeah?" He asked, taking a sip.

"I talked Clockwork into talking the Observant into giving you a day. So I get you all to myself."

Danny didn't say anything. He just set his cup down and walked over to her. She was a lot shorter than he was, but he still had no problem wrapping his arms around her and burying his face in her neck. She hugged him back just as tightly.

"I love you," Danny said into her neck.

"I love you too," she said. "Now get dressed. We're going to Earth."

* * *

New York was a pretty fun place as a tourist. As a resident he could see how boring it could be, but having grown up in Amity Park, the skyscrapers and deep dish pizza was the best thing since sliced bread.

They went to Central Park, attempted to ride the subway but they couldn't figure it out so they just flew instead. They also visited the very top of the Statue of Liberty, before finally stopping in for said deep dish pizza.

The TV was stuck on the news about some guy with a ridiculous name breaking out of prison. Seriously, who would name their kid Friedrich Showenhower? Then again, Danny had no room to blame. He named himself _Danny Phantom_ when he first started out. But to be born with that name? What a tragedy.

As Danny half listens while talking to Valerie over pizza, things take a turn for the worse. And considering Danny's occupation, he's kind of surprised it didn't happen sooner.

See, the thing about this pizza place was that it was literally right across the street from a big, white, columns and all bank. Said bank was currently being robbed, now.

The TV cut out, and a new news reporter was on, talking about it. Danny watched as, one by one, several police cars surrounded the bank.

"So much for having you to myself," Valerie sighed. She didn't seem particularly worried.

"We love a good hostage situation," he said, as he stood up. "I'll be quick."

"And safe," Valerie insisted.

"And safe," he promised. He ran to the bathroom, and after making sure nobody was there, he transformed into Phantom, turned invisible, and left through the ceiling.

He flew undetected into the bank. He looked down at the five armed men, and the several terrified hostages cowering by the walls.

Danny flew down, grabbed a mom and her kid, and phased them through the wall, undetected. He dropped them off by the police, and went back.

He did this over and over, until almost all of the hostages were taken care of. They could always get the money back, but not the people. People were his priority.

He had to stop, though, when one of the armed guards noticed. "Hey, weren't there more people when we got here?" His voice was rough and deep, and it made Danny freeze in his tracks. He whirled around, watching as they looked right through him, around the room.

"Yeah, I think there were. Where the hell did they go?" Said another robber.

"That would be my doing," Danny said as he dropped his invisibility.

As expected, all of them drew their guns. Danny raised his hands, making a green dome so that the hostages could escape without getting hurt.

"I suggest you drop your guns," Danny said.

"Please," one of them scoffed. "You're just a guy in a dumb getup. You ain't Iron Man."

"You're right, I'm not," he replied. He sent a variety of ice and ectoblasts towards the armed men, each one hitting their mark with ease. In mere seconds they were taken down. He walked over to one who was still half-conscious, and leaned down.

"I'm much better."

He stood back up, letting the shield drop now that all of the hostages were gone and the threat was neutralized.

As he was getting ready to leave, however, he heard a whimpering, and then a shushing sound. He looked over by the bank teller stations. The sound was coming from behind them. He walked over, going around them instead of through them as to not freak out the traumatized child anymore.

There was a mom clutching her daughter to her chest, tears streaming down her face.

"Ma'am?" He asked, slowly stepping forward. She didn't look up but her daughter peaked an eye out. She couldn't have been more than maybe four.

She shook her mom slightly and pointed to Danny.

"P-Please, don't hurt us," she said. Her voice was shaky, and she had a slight accent that wasn't really anything in particular. Danny held up his hands and dropped down to one knee. He was maybe ten feet from them.

Slowly he brought his hands in front of him.

 _Are you okay?_ He signed.

Her eyes widened slightly, but hastily signed back to him. It was a little awkward silence her arms were still wrapped around her daughter, but she still signed to him faster than he could ever sign to her.

_Who are you?_

_My name is Phantom. The robbers are all unconscious now. Police outside. I can escort you out if you want._

She looked him over once. Twice. A third time, before finally tapping her daughter's back and standing up. Danny smiled at her and waved her towards him.

As a safety measure, he trapped all of the robbers in their own personal green domes so that they wouldn't try anything weird. Danny led them to the door and opened it up for them, letting them walk through, where she was immediately tackled by another woman with darker hair.

"Who are you?" The new woman asked.

"Name's Phantom."

"Thank you so much for saving my family," she said.

"I'm just happy to help. And here," he held out his palm, and they watched in amazement as a tiny sleeping cat made of ice appeared. "To match her shirt," he pointed to their daughter. "It won't melt or break. That's the cool thing about ghost ice."

"Thank you," the first woman said, taking the cat. Danny just nodded, waved, and disappeared again.

He went back to the pizzeria bathroom, made sure nobody was there, and transformed back into Fenton. When he walked out, Valerie was sitting there waiting for him, watching the news as a couple police officers escorted the moms and her daughter away, as a small troop and camera crew went inside the bank.

"Very smooth," she said.

"It was bound to happen sooner or later, Val. Knowing the Avengers is gonna put me back on the radar."

"Let's just hope we don't attract the wrong attention. We don't want another GiW on our hands."

"Yeah, tell me about it. Now, how many slices are left?"

* * *

The TV blazed with the footage of little King Phantom helping out a tiny family. _New Super: Hero or Tall Tale?_

A grey hand reached over and turned it up.

" _In an amazing amount of luck, not a single person was harmed during this attempted robbery, and not a single cent was stolen. Eye witnesses say that they were taken through the wall and flown-yes, you heard me,_ flown _over to the cops to safety. He would appear and disappear out of seemingly nowhere. The daughter of this lovely couple has a big thank you to say to the one that rescued her moms."_

" _Thank you Mr. Phantom for the kitty,"_ a tiny child said.

A blurry photo appeared on the screen. It was him alright. Little Phantom wasn't so little anymore. _And_ he was a king now, which made everything that much easier for him. A grin spread across his face, showing his yellow teeth and icy demeanor.

"Oh-ho-ho, this is going to be so much _fun."_


	9. Chapter 8

The Avengers, and by extension S.H.I.E.L.D, and by even further extension the world, now knew that that there was a superhero running around that either had ghost powers, or was a ghost, and nobody really knew what to believe. Some called him a hero, and others saw him as a monster because he's a ghost, and others tried to summon him. Luckily none of the attempts have worked yet.

The bank excursion was of course brought up in conversation the next time he and the Avengers met up. It was nice having friends who understood the life, and they were all super happy for him. But one question kept coming up.

"How did you get there so quickly?"

"I was just in the area. All luck, really."

And that was that. The media had a few field days with Danny's presence, and then interviews from Tony on the subject of Danny, which everyone but Tony enjoyed.

Over the course of the next few weeks they became even greater friends. They visited each other frequently, which Steve liked for the sight seeing and sketchbook potential, while Tony and Bruce enjoyed it purely for scientific reasons and not because Dora made them flower crowns the third time they had visited. Clint kept coming back for Cujo. Apparently he knew how to ask someone if he could pet their dog in seventeen different languages, and Danny gained a lot more respect for the man the day he found that out. But Clint also has a tendency to be a bit of a dumbass sometimes so Natasha joined him just in case. Thor came because he's an overgrown overprotective godly Labrador who will do anything for his friends, even if it means coming into the Ghost Zone time and time again because they think it's fun.

Danny had a lot of patience. As a king it was something he learned very quickly. It was a necessity, especially when dealing with new ghosts. So it's only reasonable as to why it's taken him this long to finally be bothered by Thor's constant glaring at him, for just simply existing. And Danny knew exactly how he would help Thor understand that despite being a ghost or a draugr or whatever, he was just as good as Thor was.

As Valerie took them around to the roof garden they let Tulip have, Danny pulled Thor aside, into a smaller storage room that had a bunch of old paintings nobody liked.

"Why do you wish to speak to me alone?" Thor asked. He was defensive more than hostile, but Danny could tell it was mostly out of necessity. Not because he didn't actually want to fight Danny.

"Because," he said, "Since day one you've hated me. And I need to make you understand that I'm a good guy."

"That sounds like something a bad guy would say."

"It sounds like something a good guy would say, too!"

Thor was silent after that, and Danny sighed.

"Listen, I know draugrs are bad, but the ghosts here aren't like that. I'm the best example."

"How so?"

Without saying anything, Danny looked Thor in the eye and let the white rings wash over him, turning white hair to black, green eyes to blue, and his armor to a flannel and jeans.

"I'm a halfa," Danny explained. "Half ghost, half human. Half alive, half dead. So when I say I'm a good guy, I'm not just trying to be relatable. And for the record, there aren't any draugrs in the Zone, so could you please start treating my people with a little more respect?"

Thor was speechless. His eyes were wide as he looked at Danny, who had a lump in his throat and felt rooted to the spot. Exposed like a wire, out there for anybody to pour water on. Vulnerable, despite the authority he had over others. But Thor needed to see this. Needed to see that Danny could bleed red as well as green.

"Wh...How?" Thor asked. His voice was soft, and all of the hostility in it had long since left. Danny sighed again, and sat down on a pile of paintings.

"When I was a teenager, I got into a lab accident. All of that is true. But what I didn't tell you guys was that it only half killed me. The ectoplasmic electricity fused with my DNA and turned me into a halfa. I should have died. I think if it was anybody else they would have. We think my exposure to ghost related things my entire life is what saved it. Er...Half of it, anyway.

"Then, five years ago, Pariah woke up. And he was the first thing I've ever killed. I pray to whatever higher power that exists that he's also the last."

Thor looked down at Danny. He saw how tired the young man was. Despite his size he seemed to shrink in on himself so that he was smaller, unnoticeable. He had seen the same weariness in his father, who always had the weight of the world on his shoulder. But Danny?

Danny's got two on his.

"I understand if you want to tell the others, but I ask you, please don't," Danny said, looking him in the eyes. Thor saw, despite the weariness of his body, his eyes blazed. They pierced his soul, just as they had before when they were green. "It's my secret to tell. And I will, eventually. Just...Reliving the day that I died is hard sometimes. It's not exactly a pleasant memory. So please...I'll tell them when I'm ready. Last time somebody found out it didn't end well. So please…"

Danny was looking down now, and Thor could see that he was visibly shaking.

Thor knelt down in front of him, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder. Danny flinched when it touched him. This man, even though so young, has seen more trauma than the battle-weary warriors he's fought with. He could do this for Danny.

"Your secret is safe with me, my friend. You don't have to explain your traumas to me. They are your scars to hold, and to share."

Danny sniffled as he raised his head up, furiously wiping at his eyes for a moment before giving Thor a big grin.

"You called me your friend."

"I suppose there is no point in thinking otherwise, now is there?"

Danny grinned at him, before letting the rings go over his body once more. He stood back up as Phantom, and offered Thor his hand.

"Shall we?" He asked. Thor took it, and stood up.

"We shall."

Danny smiled as he led him out of the room and back to the group.

They both smiled the entire way.


	10. Chapter 9

Stark Tower was one to behold. From the outside, it used to look tacky with Stark's name all over it, but ever since he just kept the A, it looks significantly less so. Danny liked to think it was because the meaning behind it. Tony was no longer celebrating himself, but all of them.

Inside of the Tower was even better. Every single room was sleek and modern and hip. There were remnants of recently finished construction projects, and Danny had to remind himself that oh yeah, there was an alien invasion a few months ago.

"Do ghosts sleep?" Tony asked.

"Uh, we can. We don't necessarily need to most of the time, though," Danny answered, giving Stark a quizzical look.

"Good, because I gave you a bed. I guess if you aren't going to use it though Valerie could since she's human and all. Also, when we finish the tour you have got to tell me how weird the wedding was."

Right. Because Valerie, someone who is very much alive, is married to the Ghost King, who to the Avengers, is very much not. He wonders briefly how this never came up sooner.

The tour wasn't exciting, but it wasn't boring either, so he called that a win. He found out that a magical disembodied voice watched everybody's every move, so slightly less cool, but Jarvis was also super snarky, so Danny could ignore it. Especially since most of the snark was directed at Tony.

Once they get to their room, Tony couldn't help the giant grin that spread across his face. Because honestly, this room takes the fucking cake.

Danny looked around, both awed and irritated and somehow not surprised. Stark had decorated every single surface with _Ghostbusters_ memorabilia. Every poster imaginable, pillows, blankets, books, and knick knacks. All _Ghostbusters._

"Wow, Tony," Danny said as he looked around. From the look on Valerie's face she absolutely hated it. "You shouldn't have. _Really."_

"Oh please, anything to make you feel at home."

"Then build a fucking castle next time," Valerie said. There was a little bite to her words, but she held a perfectly innocent smile on her face as she said it. Tony was both impressed and terrified.

"First off, I would just like to say don't kill me, because this was a good old practical joke. Your _actual_ room is two doors down. But the whole floor is yours."

"What?" Danny asked. Because honestly, this was a lot all at once. They had as many bedrooms and bathrooms as they could ever need, all stocked with clothes for the both of them, a gym, and a kitchenette. Tony was very proud of the kitchenette.

"Wipe the looks off of your faces, all members of the Avengers get a floor to themselves."

"Wait, when did this happen?" Danny asked.

"When we became friends. Official or not, you and Val are one of us. Two of us? Eh...Part of the team."

* * *

"I think it's whosoever has the same fingerprints as him," Clint said as Tony tried and failed to lift Thor's hammer.

"I get to rule Asgard if I lift this, right?" Tony asked through his grunts. Danny and Valerie laughed at him from across the table. They were sitting on the floor, his arm around her shoulders.

"Aye," Thor said, a shit-eating grin on his face. "But it looks like you're not worthy."

"Hey, Danny, why don't you give it a try," Clint said. Danny waved him off.

"Listen, I'm already ruler of one kingdom. I don't want another."

"Here here!" Thor said, lifting his mug in Danny's direction, and Danny and Valerie laughed.

"You and your dad must have a pretty good relationship if you two are the only ones who can lift it," Bruce said, watching everything with amusement.

"Somewhat. He is still king, who treats everybody the same, including me. It...wasn't easy. As a prince expectations are high, and your whole life is planned out for you."

"That sounds like it sucks," Danny tells him.

"My dad was super focused on work all the time, so he was really neglectful. He never made time for me. I felt like a stranger in my own home," Tony says, and it's so abrupt to him that he has to process what just came out of his mouth for a moment.

Thor just nods. "And you?" He turns to Danny.

"Oh, my parents tried to kill me," Danny says casually. He doesn't notice the reactions at first, because he's accepted the fact that they hated him a long time ago. Once he notices everybody's reaction to that statement, he realizes what came out of his mouth.

"I'm sorry-What?" Steve said. His whole body was on guard, and his jaw was set.

"They're ghost hunters, guys," Danny says. "It's not uncommon for ghost hunters to hate ghosts."

That does almost nothing to smooth out their anger. Natasha has stayed completely silent, save for the sharpening stone along one of the many large knives she knew she had. She looked up at him, and made complete eye contact as she took it down the blade once more, before returning her full focus to it.

"What are the names of your parents, by chance?" Tony asks. He asks it casually, but nothing about Tony's posture is casual. Danny waves him off.

"They're harmless, you guys," he tells them. "Couldn't aim if their life depended on it."

Lie.

He glanced over at Natasha, who was looking at him again. Her eyes were narrowed, which told Danny that she knew he was lying through his teeth, but thankfully she didn't say anything. Valerie was squeezing his hand, both to ground him and comfort him. To let him know she's there for him.

"Are you absolutely sure?" Bruce asked. The concern was written all over his face.

"Yes! I haven't seen them in like, eight years, so don't worry about it. They know nothing about my current whereabouts and superhero status."

"Yeah, except for the fact that the news has been playing the bank trip you had for the past two weeks now," Clint pipes up.

"Oh shit, you're right," Danny says, thinking for a moment. What if they come all the way here just to hunt him down? No, they don't watch the news. They're too focused on their killing devices. "They're not gonna go cross country just to kill someone who's already dead," Danny says. "In the small chance that they do, and in the even smaller chance that they get past Valerie, I have you guys to protect me."

"And if we can't?" Bruce asked.

"They can't do anything to me that hasn't already been done. Plus I've got Wulf. He can literally tear through time and space to go wherever and whenever he wants."

That didn't satisfy them at all. Thor was looking at him with worry and a deep determination. Thor knew his secret. He knew the traumas Danny's gone through wasn't just as a ghost.

He thankfully kept his mouth shut.

The silence in the room was deafening as they all looked around at each other. Thor's was his helicopter father, Tony without, and Danny's, who wanted to murder him in the name of science. Lucky for them, though, Clint came in clutch.

"I bet I could lift the hammer."

There was an immediate uproar and laughter at the statement. Tony came back at him with a snarky quip, Nat just rolled her eyes, and Bruce chuckled to himself, shaking his head. Danny grinned, knowing full well that Clint could in fact not lift the hammer.

He squeezed Valerie's hand back, thankful to have her ground him.

* * *

_Dear Jack and Maddie,_

A long time ago Danny heard that if you want a tool to help you move past traumas, no matter how old, write a letter to the people who caused it. And then burn it.

He looked back at Valerie, who was asleep in the bed Stark provided. He was floating by the window, with a notepad in his lap and headphones in.

The city was gorgeous at night. Lights twinkling, and shining, people looking like they're having a good time. The really rad looking gargoyle across the street.

He was stalling, and he knew it. He sighed and looked down at the pad of paper.

_Dear Jack and Maddie,_

_This letter will never get to you, which is fine because I don't want it to. I never want to have any kind of contact with you ever again._

_For years as a teenager you hunted me down, and was ready to tear me apart 'molecule by molecule' in the name of science. Whether I'm your son or not, that's pretty fucked up._

_Then I told you I was a halfa, in hopes that you would still love me as your son, like you said you would. No matter what is what you had said. But when I told you, you no longer saw me as your son. Hell, you no longer saw me as_ human.

_You strapped me to a table and made a mess of my insides. And when you were done, you allowed the government to come and take me away, only for them to do the same._

_I still have all of the scars. I know they're scary to other people, so I wear sleeves all the time. Even in my human form. The only thing saving me from heatstroke is my own goddamn ice powers._

_I really just wrote this so you're aware, at least in my mind, the trauma you've caused me, both physically and mentally. You are the reason I have trust issues. You broke me into unimaginably tiny pieces, and it took years for me to put myself back together again._

_If I ever see you again, I will unleash fury onto you, for everything you've done to me._

_I hope you rot in hell,_

_Danny._

Danny didn't realize he was crying until a tear drop splattered on the page. He took a shaky breath and wiped his eyes.

Relief swelled in him as he watched the note go up in green flames, and he finally, after almost a decade, allowed himself to cry.


	11. Chapter 10

The Tower was something that became the new resting place for Danny and Valerie. It was too good to stay away from. They came as often as they could, which ended up being a couple times a week if they were lucky. The whole alliance thing between the human realm and ghost realm made them extra busy, but the payoff was definitely worth it.

The Tower was a beacon, a safe haven away from responsibilities. He felt like he was at home, even though at home he would never be in his ghost form like he always was when he was around the Avengers. Out of all of them, the only one who knew he was a halfa was Thor, who thus far had kept his secret. Danny was grateful for it.

Thor wasn't the only one he had grown closer to. He could say, without hesitation, that he was really close friends with all of them by now. Even Natasha, who kept everything secret from everybody except for maybe Clint.

Clint, who was currently watching _Supernanny_ reruns while making a very precarious, cartoonishly large sandwich in the living room. Danny was watching Clint's sandwich intensely, praying it would fall over. After the week he's had, it would be a godsend to have a good laugh.

"What the fuck?" Clint asked. His hands stopped for a moment as he looked at the TV. Danny turned and watched it.

" _Hello, men, women, and children of the world,"_ a familiar voice said. But Danny couldn't quite place where he knew it from. " _I know me jumping in on your television can seem quite scary, but I assure you, I only want one thing."_

Without warning, a red, glowing scepter appeared on screen.

"What is up with this broadcast?" Clint asked, looking over at Danny. He was grabbing his head, as if in pain. When he blinked his eyes flickered between green and red.

" _I heard a little friend of mine recently got a promotion, and I would like to congratulate him,"_ the voice continued.

"Clint," Danny groaned. He was on the floor now, clutching at his skull. Clint was right beside him, his hands hovering around Danny's body, unsure of what to do.

"What's happening?" Clint asked him.

"F...Can't…" Danny said. He tried fighting whatever it was that was happening, before looking at Clint, his eyes blown wide. They were green. "Staff," he finally grunted out.

" _King Phantom, come see me in Amity Park, where you ruined my life. Come to_ Circus Gothica!"

His eyes flicked to red, and his whole body relaxed. He looked straight at Clint, but seemed to stare right through him as if he wasn't there.

" _Oh, and if you see any of our little superhero friends,"_ the man said, " _then_ destroy _them."_ The man burst into a fit of high pitched, hysterical laughter, before being cut off as the TV turned back to _Supernanny._

"Danny?" Clint asked. He was nervous, no doubt, because he did not have superpowers, and he was in the presence of the Ghost King, who had several powers, _and_ he was an Avenger. Which technically made him a superhero.

Yikes.

Danny didn't say anything. No, he just silently ignited one of his hands before looking straight down at Clint. He was eerily calm, blank-faced as he pointed his open palm at Clint's head.

"Jarvis?" Clint asked. He could feel the heat coming from Danny's hand. "Where are the others?"

"I've already alerted them."

Just as Jarvis had finished talking, Danny let out a blast of green ectoplasm. Clint blinked, ready for the sweet release of death, but when he opened his eyes again, Steve was standing over him, his shield smoking.

"Let's go," he urged, helping Clint up.

"What the fuck man," Clint said, ducking behind the bar with Steve.

"What happened?" Steve asked, daring to glance over the bar. He ducked down quickly as a green ectoblast fired where he had just been.

"I don't know! We were watching TV and then it got interrupted with some broadcast!"

Before the conversation could go any further than that, Danny appeared before them, out of thin air. He still had that blank, vacant look on his face, and red eyes.

Neither of them understood how someone like Danny could have defeated the worst ghost in history. But looking at him now, they were absolutely terrified. Danny had a monumental power, and the two humans could feel it oozing out of him as he stared at them. The fear that the both of them felt was more than skin deep.

When they looked into Danny's eyes and saw nothing, it shot fear into their very souls.

But they didn't have time to be afraid. They had a job to do, and that job was to not die.

Steve noticed it had gotten significantly colder in the past few seconds, and the white puff coming out of his mouth with his next breath didn't go unnoticed.

He roughly grabbed Clint by the shoulder and hauled him over the bar with him. Steve's shoe, which had been frozen to the floor, was a sacrifice he was willing to make.

Steve flipped the coffee table onto its side to use it as a sort of barrier between them and Danny. Clint picked up a small pile of toothpicks that had fallen when the table was turned.

"This is no time to try and salvage your sandwich," Steve said.

"We can't let that sandwich's death go to waste," Clint said, his voice cracking. He took a brief moment to peak over the edge and came back. Then, without looking, his back to Danny, he flicked a toothpick over his shoulder.

Judging from the pause in movement, Clint had hit his shot. It did nothing, really. More of a minor inconvenience at most, but it was enough of a distraction for Tony to fly through and tackle Danny to the ground.

"What happened? Tony asked, standing back up and pointing his hands at Danny, who was getting up. His face was still blank, and he had a small sliver of green running down the side of his face.

"Explain later!" Clint said as the others ran in. Natasha threw him his bow and quiver, which he more or less caught. Thor was growling, swinging his hammer around.

"Avengers!" He shouted. He had been right the whole time, and now his friends were going to get hurt because of it.

"Let's get rid of this foul beast, shall we?"


	12. Chapter 11

"Let's get rid of this foul beast, shall we?"

There was a righteous anger burning inside of Thor. He had let the draugr in, had let it get close to his friends, and now this happens. He should have known. He never should have let it get to close. Maybe the human side was fake, a simple scheme that he should have seen. He should have killed it when he had-

"Thor, don't kill him!" Clint yelled at him. "He's hypnotized or something!"

"When I asked you 'what happened' that would have sufficed," Iron Man said as he swung. His fist went right through Danny, and the cold feeling that overcame his hands was weird and uncomfortable. Before he could recover, Danny kicked him hard in the side, and sent him flying into the wall.

"Uh, do we know how strong he is?" Steve asked. "Did we ever bother to ask?"

"Wait, you guys," Clint said, knocking an arrow. "I've got a dumb idea."

"Spit it out before he kills us!" Natasha said, dodging a couple of ectoblasts.

"The guy said if he sees us then to destroy us," Clint said. "If we disappear he might leave!"

"Are you being serious right now, Barton?" Iron Man asked, groaning as he did. After all, a good kick to the side sent him into a wall _while he was in his armor._ Clint's pretty sure that it didn't feel too nice.

"I've come up with worse plans." Clint pulled the arrow back.

"SCATTER!"

He let the arrow go flying. It landed right at Danny's feet, and immediately started letting out giant plumes of black smoke. As he pulled himself up into the air vents, he was really praying that this would work.

It took a few minutes, but the smoke did clear, and not a single Avenger was anywhere to be found. Danny looked around for a moment, and once he was satisfied that there were no more Avengers, he flew through the window, and out into the open air.

One beat. Two beats. Three beats passed before Clint and Natasha climbed out of the air vents. Iron Man, who had been to get up and go somewhere else, released his camouflage. Thor came in from the hall, and Steve climbed out of the couch.

"I can't believe that actually worked," Steve said, looking at Clint with a mix of bewilderment and dumbfoundedness.

"How did you know that was going to work?" Iron Man asked.

"I didn't," Clint shrugged. "But...I think Danny's still in there somewhere. Before he became a zombie he was trying to fight it. His eyes were going back and forth between normal and red. We gotta help him."

"Do we even know where he went?" Natasha asked.

"Freak on TV said Circus Gothica," he answered. "I don't remember the city, though."

" _Mister Stark, I believe I need to show you something,"_ Jarvis said.

"Sure, buddy, what is it?" Tony asked. He took off his helmet and set it down on the bar.

Without saying anything else, the TV, which miraculously didn't have a single scratch on it, changed channels.

" _Allison O'Connor here with the Daily Bugle,"_ a news reporter said. " _We're here with a couple of eye witnesses who saw what just went down at Avengers Tower."_

The camera panned over to a couple of teenagers. " _We were-we were in that building right over there visiting my dad when we saw all the green lights and stuff. And then a bunch of smoke fogged up the windows and that ghost guy flew out,"_ one of them explained, out of breath.

" _Shit's wild, dude,"_ the other one said. As he said that, the camera panned from him over to their window, where they could see themselves watching TV. Iron Man walked over to the window and held up his middle fingers. He could hear Clint laughing from the couch.

"It just fucking happened," Steve sighed. "How in the world did they get here so fast?"

" _It looks like Iron Man has no comment. We're gonna turn it over to the head honcho, J. Jonah Jameson, for his professional opinion."_

" _Listen, folks,"_ Jameson said, his face beat red. " _I've been saying it since day one. That Phantom guy is a menace! Everybody knows you don't mess with ghosts! They're evil! They'll possess you and destroy your life. If you're lucky enough to see a ghost, don't go near it. Stay inside, look up anti-ghost whatever online. And let's get rid of this mena-"_

There was a loud crash as Tony's helmet made impact with the TV, cracking it beyond repair.

"I'm gonna go talk to reporters. You guys work on coming up with a plan. And for the love of God, Thor, he's our friend. Our job right now it to help him. So get with the program. I thought you were over this draugr shit."

Without another word, Tony picked his helmet up and left through the elevator.

On his way down, Tony didn't know what to think, what to feel. He knows that there's a lot of confusion, but also a lot of righteous anger, and he didn't know which one was right. Maybe both of them.

He didn't _not_ believe Clint, but hypnosis also seemed like a bit of a stretch. Plus, why didn't Clint get hypnotized too? Was it targeted specifically at Danny? Or is it a special kind that affects ghosts in general? And if either of those were it, why in the world would they want to hypnotize Danny? Who even _knew_ about him?

All of these questions whirled through Tony's mind, bumping around non stop. His head hurt, and he didn't know if it was from this or when Danny had kicked him into a wall.

That was another thing that bothered him. Yeah, Danny had to be powerful to be king and whatnot, and he had said right out that he had a lot of powers, but how powerful were they? How powerful was he? He roundhoused Tony almost through the wall, which had just been built a few months prior. Danny...He didn't put any kind of effort into that kick.

Tony sighed and rubbed his face as the elevator opened. There were immediately whispers of what had happened, about how one guy that worked in the coffee shop on the seventh floor heard everything, which Tony knew was bullshit, but he wasn't about to dispute it. If Danny had super strength then maybe this guy had super hearing. He really, _really_ doubted it, but he guessed it was possible.

At the entrance to the lobby, Happy was doing his job perfectly, and keeping the reporters in the lobby and not upstairs, where they could see the carnage of the living room themselves.

 _No comment, my ass,_ he thought bitterly as he walked towards them. _I thought my middle fingers were comment enough._

Every step he takes makes a large clanging sound as metal hits pristine tile, and he makes a mental note to tip the floor guys a little extra since they're gonna have to buff the scratches out themselves. Everybody is now silent, still staring at him as he walks towards the reporters. He doesn't have to go around anybody because they all jump out of his way long before he reaches them.

When he gets there, Happy is still telling the reporters they're not allowed past the lobby. Tony puts a hand on his shoulder, and they both look at each other. They know each other so well that Tony doesn't have to say anything. Happy just nods and walks away, giving him a "Have fun, boss," on his way out. Tony doesn't watch Happy leave. Instead, he makes direct eye contact with the head reporter, O'Connor.

"Mr. Stark," she says, a little out of breath. If they were here by the time it took him to ride the elevator down then she must have run. Her face was flushed, and her hair was just a little out of place, but otherwise looked TV ready. "How could you let a ghost into the city right under your noses?"

"First off," he says, and his words have a bit of a bite to them but he doesn't care. He's pissed off and in pain, and he will gladly take out his frustration on this frustrating news anchor who is trying to slander the name of one of his friends. "He's not the villain here," Tony said. "You should be focusing on the broadcast that happened. About why it's affected Phantom like this. But no. You're too busy trying to drag his good name through the mud because Jameson says ghosts are evil.

"Ghosts are people, O'Connor. There are good ones and there are bad ones. They're not that much different from you and me. And Phantom? He is by far one of the best ones I've met. He is a member of the Avengers, and he will continue to stay a member of the Avengers. He is a hero, and you will treat him as such, or so help me god I will buy your news station and fire Jameson and you myself."

"If he's such a good guy then can you explain what happened?" O'Connor asked. She was pale, probably from the threat of losing her job, but Tony had to give her credit for continuing on.

"We don't know for sure what's happened yet, and when we find out, we'll let you know when the situation is resolved."

"And you're sure he's good? You're sure you can save him?"

Tony looks O'Connor in the eyes. They're a vibrant green, but not nearly as green as Danny's.

"We'll save him if it's the last thing we do. There's a reason we're called the Avengers."

Without turning around, Tony waves his hand, and a minute later Happy is next to him, ushering the reporters out of the building. O'Connor is halfheartedly trying to fight it as she halfheartedly tries to ask more questions, but Tony interrupts her.

"How's that for no comment?"

And then she's out the door. Happy comes back to him, just like he always does, and Tony is grateful for the help.

"You good, boss?" He asks, and Tony knows he's not referring to the reporters. Tony sighs, and starts walking back towards the elevator.

"I will be when we get Danny back."

When the elevator doors close, Happy is giving him a thumbs up. Tony appreciates it more than either of them will ever know.


	13. Chapter 12

Phantom is silent when he enters the main tent but Freakshow still turns around to greet him. He's been waiting.

"Ooooohh," he leers. "King Phantom! It's so wonderful to finally have you in my presence."

Phantom doesn't respond. He stares at Freakshow, his eyes glowing a bright red. They were the same shade as his staff.

"You know," Freakshow said with a sigh. His smile turned into a grimace as he gripped his weapon harder. "You ruined my life. You defeated me, and threw me in jail. For years I rotted at the bottom of the food chain. People called me a circus freak, forced me to do tricks for them. But you, you went on living. You didn't think about me again after you threw me in prison. You never thought twice about ruining my life!"

As he spoke, his voice rose higher and higher, fueled by anger and resentment. Phantom stood there listening with a blank expression on his face.

"Kneel," Freakshow hisses. Phantom does so, with the slightest bit of hesitation. It doesn't go unnoticed by Freakshow.

As soon as Phantom is down on one knee, Freakshow pulls his knee back and send his foot into Phantom's face as hard as he can. Phantom flies back, hits his head on the ground, ectoplasm leaking from his nose. Freakshow walks over, his staff glowing brighter.

"Listen, little ghoul," Freakshow says as he kneels down. He places his knee right over Phantom's throat, pressing down ever so softly. "Don't try to fight. Because if you do," he leans down, placing more pressure on Phantom's throat. If he wasn't a ghost he would probably be worrying about air. "I'll end you."

Freakshow stands up, grabbing Phantom's icy crown as he did so.

"What is this crown for?" He asks, looking it over. He can feel the cold through his gloves.

"It's my sign of power," Phantom replies. His voice is far away, with a slight echo to it.

"Power? What are you, prince?"

"I am King Phantom, ruler of ghosts."

Freakshow's eyes widen as he turns back around to Danny. "King of ghosts, you say?" He asks. Phantom nods. "So, if I were to command you, I could command the others."

"The ghosts take after my personality. They are able to say no."

"Not if I use this," he holds up the staff. "With you under my control, I can have both of these worlds."

As Freakshow fell into a cackling mess, Danny watched. And a part of him on the inside hurt. His chest was in physical pain.

 _Don't let him do this!_ A voice in his head yelled at him. Is it his voice? His thoughts? It sounds familiar, but he can't quite place it. He wanted to listen to it. Something about it felt right. But when he looked at Freakshow's staff, that voice in his head was drowned out.

He rubbed at his chest. The pain was slowly starting to grow, and it was uncomfortable.

Freakshow watched him for a moment before coming up and putting a hand on his face. He made Danny look down into his beady red eyes.

"If you fail me, Phantom," he snarled, "I will not only destroy you, but everyone you love as well. Now," a wide grin spread across his face. "Summon them."

Danny nodded, and opened up several portals around them. He held out his hands, and they pulsed with green energy.

He stood there for hours on end, pulsing and waiting, until finally swarms of ghosts showed up. As soon as they would start arriving, Freakshow would put them under his control.

He cackled as more and more ghosts started pouring into the tent. And this wasn't even a fraction of them.

"Go," he told them. "Go, and get Amity Park ready for me!"

The ghosts mimicked his cackling as they flew up in a spiral, leaving the tent in a frenzy.

"Don't stop until I have every last ghost under my control," he snarled. Danny remained motionless, but he did continue to do as he was told.

* * *

Clockwork watched his screens as the tent filled with green. He only knew where Danny was by the glowing red eyes, and he frowned.

Outside of his windows, there was a swirling green mass that was not the sky, but Danny's loyal subjects coming to him. Clockwork could feel the pull as well. He was powerful, but there was no way he was going to be able to resist the King's Call for very long. And he knows that once he's out of that portal, he'll be under Freakshow's control, just like all of the others.

He sighed as his form shifted to an infant. He would not interfere, because he knew what would most likely happen next. He trusted Daniel, and he trusted the Avengers. They are going to find him.

But for Daniel, it will be at a great cost.

He will lose his peace of mind. He will lose an old relationship for the rest of his afterlife, but he will gain a new one soon after this.

But he may lose his life.

But Clockwork knew, even as he felt himself being pulled out of his tower and in with the other ghosts, that even if his life was on the line, for Daniel it was worth it.

Because Daniel would sacrifice everything for his people.


	14. Chapter 13

There was a vein popping in Steve's neck as he looked down at the table they were talking at. He was too restless to be sitting down, and standing up, he had the mobility to pace around.

Tony had come back from the little run in with O'Connor only a couple of minutes ago, but he's already setting up fail-safes and wondering how on Earth they were going to upgrade his tech to fight ghosts, and, if need be, Danny.

They all knew he was super powerful, being king and all, but they had no idea just how powerful he is. He has a lot of them, and Steve knows that Danny is the kind of person who would take the time to work on every single one individually. He would work them to perfection. Even if there were six of them with alien-fighting experience, they didn't really stand a chance against a mind-controlled ghost king.

" _Sir, Miss Valerie is on her way up with three companions. I do suggest bracing yourself,"_ Jarvis told them.

"Brace myself?" Tony asked.

Before he could even process how he could possibly brace himself, Valerie stormed in with Dani, a goth woman, and a guy in a red beanie and big glasses behind her.

"What happened?" She asked. Her voice wasn't loud, but it was most definitely intimidating. Valerie, despite having no powers, was a walking thunderstorm, ready to wreak havoc given the right opportunity.

"Mind control," Clint said through a mouthful of bread. "We were just chilling on the couch when some freak showed a scepter and Danny went berserk. He's on his way to Circus Gothica right now."

"That sounds familiar," Valerie said, turning to her companions. "Where have I heard that before?"

"Circus Gothica is that circus Freakshow hung out at. He brainwashed ghosts so they would rob stuff for him. Danny got framed for that like what, ten years ago?" The goth chick said. "It was right after he got his powers."

"You're right," the other one said, looking at his tablet. "Freakshow broke out a few months ago, this is definitely him."

"Who are you guys?" Bruce asked. He looked a bit frazzled but luckily far from green.

"Sam, Tucker," Valerie said, pointing to the goth and hipster respectively. "You already know Dani."

"What the hell are you wearing?" Tony asked her. She was in a red, high tech looking suit.

"Gotta wear a suit when you're going to battle," Valerie replied. "Now listen up.

"There's no easy way we can track Freakshow, but Tuck has a ghost tracker locked onto Danny's ecto signature. He's just on the outside of Amity, which is good news for us since his parents are crazy."

"They've already activated the shield, the only people getting in are Danny and Freakshow if they so choose," Tucker about him was focused, but Sam and Valerie both knew that he was freaking out on the inside. If given the chance, he would tear Freakshow apart for messing with his best friend.

"Right. Not great, but could be worse. Anyway, our job is to go to Amity, I'm gonna knock Danny out of it, but chances are there will be an army. Tucker."

"Right, I have a bunch of ghost fighting equipment we can use. We won't win, but we can buy enough time to get Valerie close enough to Danny to knock some sense into him. And we brought extra spectre deflectors for you guys so even if they get close, the ghosts won't be able to touch you without getting zapped."

"Zapped?" Bruce asked.

"Yeah, but it's non lethal. Just enough for a warning. Danny has a whole dimension of undead at his fingertips, we're most definitely going to want these for extra protection."

Tucker dumped out a duffel bag full of glowing green technology. He dug through the pile and tossed each Avenger a belt, and handed one to Sam.

He continued to dig some more, pulling out various artillery and handing them to the hero that could use them the best. He gave Natasha a couple of smaller ectoguns and one giant one, he attached a ghost shield onto Steve's normal shield, gave Clint small projectiles he could fling, and a couple of ectoguns, and he was given access to Stark's armor to modify it on the way to Amity.

Just as Tucker was finishing up, Dani started to act a little funny.

"What's wrong?" Sam asked her. Dani held her head, shaking it slightly to distract herself.

"I'm being called," she replied.

"By who?"

"By Danny. He's using the King's Call to summon all of the ghosts to him. I won't be able to ignore it for much longer."

"Shit," Valerie says. "Take this," she handed a small camera to Dani, who attaches it to her chest. It was practically invisible. "With the King's Call, Danny will summon every ghost from the Ghost Zone _and_ every ghost that's still here in this plane of existence. Not a single one is able to resist it."

"Don't you have any control over the ghosts since you're the queen?" Steve asked.

"Not like this. For starters, I'm not a ghost. And second, it's Danny. We don't really stand a chance at beating him, to be honest."

"Just how powerful is he?"

"There was one time he told me about how he fought his evil older self, who took over the whole world, and he won."

"Yeah?"

"That was when he was fourteen. He's even stronger now."

"Yikes."

"Now you're getting it."

"Going back to the ghosts, he's calling them from here and the Zone? That's trillions of ghosts," Bruce said, eyes widening.

"It'll take a while for them to accumulate, but yeah, it's-"

Valerie was cut off by the large bang that came from Dani, her fist on the table. She was still trying to fight it. Her head was down, but when she looked up at them once more, her eyes were glowing red instead of their regular green. Then, without saying anything, she calmly left through the wall.

"Fuck," Sam said. Valerie frowned.

"It's starting."


	15. Chapter 14

With Dani now playing for the other team, they were at a disadvantage. Yeah, having three experienced ghost hunters and a team of superheroes who had saved the world wasn't a bad mix, but having a halfa on your team definitely helped. But now Freakshow had two, and that was a recipe for disaster.

"We can't go through the Zone like we were planning to," Sam said. "Ghosts will be even more dangerous than usual now that they're under Freakshow's control. It's safer to go in this world."

"How will we get there, though?"

"I finished building the Avengers quinjet. We can take that," Tony said.

"Perfect," Valerie said. "Tuck, while we're in the air can you make it ghost proof?"

"Yeah. It won't be the best because of the time crunch but I can make it work."

"Good. Let's go, then."

* * *

In the air, the atmosphere was filled with even more tension than at the Tower. Most of it was coming from the newcomers. Steve could understand how this was affecting them. They had all known each other since they were kids, and would kill for any one of each other. Hell, they're not even there yet and Sam is already having to talk Tucker down from committing murder. Steve didn't know whose side he was on, because while he didn't want to kill anybody, this Freakshow guy messed with his new family. And he would do anything for his family.

He saw a lot of Bucky in Tucker. The smarter, more responsible friend who was always by your said, and is closer to you than any brother one could have. Bucky and Tucker were the science obsessed right hand men who would march to the ends of the earth for their brother, and Steve found that admirable. It almost distracted him from the pain in his chest that the lack of Bucky has caused.

Tucker messed around with wires, clipped them here and there and added his own technology, trying to distract himself from the mission they were currently on, but he's done this kind of thing enough times to go on autopilot, which was a problem. Once he was on autopilot, he was done with.

"How's it coming along?" Bruce asked him. Tucker just shrugged. He knew what Bruce was trying to do, which meant that his emotions were written all over his face.

"I've almost got this one. I'm gonna add one in the other three as well. Hopefully it'll be enough."

"You're incredibly smart. Like a younger, more tolerable Tony Stark. I'm sure it will be."

Tucker couldn't help the smile that graced his lips, even if for a moment.

"I appreciate that, but these shields weren't built for quinjets. They were built for armor. At this point I have to go for quantity over quality, I don't have enough time to make them strong enough over trillions of ghosts and their king."

"Still, it's impressive how you're able to deal with that and the mission at hand. How do you stay so calm?"

"Distractions," Tucker answered simply. "If I don't think about it I can't get stressed out about it."

"Distractions can also be dangerous," Bruce said, turning away from Tucker to look out of the window. "I would be careful about doing that."

"What, you're not going to tell me to find healthy coping mechanisms like every other older person in my life?"

"Not my place. Besides, you have a pretty good head on your shoulders for someone who is constantly stressed out about ghost invasions. No therapist would understand, or believe you if you talked about ghosts and aliens."

"Are you speaking from personal experience?" Tucker stopped for a brief moment, glancing over at Bruce, before going back to his work.

"Something like that."

Sam watched as Tucker and Bruce talked for a bit while Tucker installed the ghost proof technology. Valerie sat next to her, and Sam sat there, pretending not to notice the picture of her and Danny from their honeymoon in their hand.

Sam tried to think about when times were simpler. Before the war, before the diplomacy, before alien invasions. Even when Danny got his superpowers, things weren't as hectic as they were now. Except for when Dan came along, but she didn't even remember that thanks to Clockwork.

"How are you feeling?" Valerie asked her, bumping her shoulder. Sam shrugged.

"As good as I can be. I'm just worried."

"You guys have faced Freakshow before. Anything that can help us?"

"He's got ghost envy. That's what Jazz told me anyway, last time he showed his ugly face. Wants to be like them. For Danny, to get him out of Freakshow's control I had to surprise him. So I kissed him. But I don't think that'll work from you since you guys are married and everything. I doubt kissing will be surprising."

"No, but there are a lot of other things that can surprise him."

Sam didn't notice the way Valerie's hand went to her stomach. Instead she just looked down at her shoes.

Thor had a lot of mixed feelings. He was still processing this whole situation, and even though he was angry, the more he thought about it, the more he realized he was angry at the wrong thing. The wrong person.

It wasn't Danny's fault he was doing this. It was this Show of Freaks. And it wasn't Danny's fault that he was a halfa.

Thor sighed and ran a hand down his face. He hasn't felt this weary in such a long time. He didn't miss it.

Over the course of the ride to Amity, everybody was quiet for the most part. They were gearing up for battle, or stewing in anxiety and resolve. Valerie couldn't believe that Danny had made such a big impact on all of these people's lives, but at the same time, she wasn't surprised. He had always been a people person, always wanting them to like him and for them to be his friends. But he was smart enough to know who his real friends were, and these guys? They were it.

"What the…?"

Valerie looked over at Tony, who was looking out of the window.

"What's wrong?" Tucker asked.

"Do you have those shields up yet, kid? Because I have a feeling we're going to need them."

"Yeah, just give me a minute."

"We don't have a minute."

And then Valerie saw it. They all did. Everybody's attention was at the window due to Stark's stressful words.

A green flash zoomed in front of them. Then another. Then several more. Then large groups of them. Slowly but surely, they eventually ended up right in the middle of a sea of ghosts. Valerie's heart broke when she saw Dora floating by, quickly followed by her twins.

"How far away from Amity are we?" Sam asked.

"A few minutes, but I think we're gonna have to walk the rest of the way."

"Done," Tucker said. He pressed a button and a green shield engulfed them. A large amount of ghosts got knocked back, but not a single one was phased by it. Their only purpose at the moment was to answer to the King's Call. "Make sure your deflectors are activated, this could get ugly."

"How are the shields?" Tony asked.

"They're not going to be able to last much longer. There are way more ghosts than I anticipated for. If even one of these things goes out, we're done for."

" _Sir, I suggest we land,"_ Jarvis says.

Before Stark can give his own AI a snarky remark, the cabin started to shake. Tony looks around, and the ghosts, instead of ignoring them, have started to compress themselves onto the shield. They're pressing themselves against it as much as they possibly can, using their powers to help them out.

"Stark, we have to land, _now,"_ Tucker said, looking worried.

"They know we're here," Valerie said, pulling her mask over her face. She pulled out her big blaster and charged it up as the cabin violently shook again.

"Have you had that on you the entire time?" Clint asked, eyes wide.

Nobody bothered answering, because right after the words left his mouth they started falling.

They fell quickly, and for a short while before they finally busted through the sea of ghosts. Unfortunately they almost hit the ground, but thanks to Jarvis and Tony they were able to not die a fiery death.

"Oh, I'm gonna throw up," Clint said, holding his stomach with one hand and the rail with the other. Tony was alert, staying low to the ground as they came up quickly on the edge of Amity. But before they could land, the back of the ship was tipped over, and they went spiraling down the road.

Valerie and the others braced themselves, and Jarvis brought extra padding out of nowhere.

Thankfully the ship itself was pretty durable, so it didn't get too damaged, but there wasn't a single person in that ship who wasn't in some sort of pain from the crash.

"You're bleeding," Valerie said. Sam touched her forehead, which was in fact bleeding. She rubbed her hand on her pants and shrugged it off.

"I'll be fine. But we have to get out of here."

Before any of them could agree or disagree, several ghosts appeared out of nowhere. The whole cabin turned icy, and Valerie could see her breath. She held up her gun and pointed it at them, but another one hit her in the back of the head. Hard. She crumpled to the ground, out cold.

It didn't take long for all of them, being as outnumbered as they were, to be captured.

Frostbite looked around at the fallen heroes being carried off by other ghosts. He picked up Valerie, his queen, and threw her over his shoulder. A part of him tried fighting this, tried breaking free, but he wasn't strong enough against both Freakshow and his king. But Freakshow had made something crystal clear.

They had a new king now.


	16. Chapter 15

Valerie groaned as she opened her eyes. She was on her knees, and her hands were tied behind her back. Her mouth was covered in a sticky green goo so that she wouldn't be able to talk. She looked to her left and to her right, where everyone else was in more or less the same position. Nobody had their weapons though, or shields, and Iron Man no longer had his armor on.

"So this is the Queen of Ghosts?"

Valerie's head shot forward towards the voice. Her eyes narrowed at Freakshow. His grey skin and long, pointed nose made her spine crawl. His red eyes bore into her.

To Freakshow's left was Danny, whose eyes were glowing red. He was staring blankly ahead, like a mindless puppet waiting for someone to attach strings to him. To Freakshow's right was Dani, who was looking exactly like Danny. Mindless.

Valerie grit her teeth as she glared daggers at Freakshow. He was hurting her husband. He was hurting her cousin in law. He was hurting her friends. He was hurting her _family._ And she was not going to rest until that long nose of his was broken off and shoved up where the sun doesn't shine.

"Oh, a feisty one you got here, Phantom. Still, she's not as good as the other one you used to be with," he looked over at Sam, who glared back just as hard as Valerie.

Valerie saw Danny's eyes flicker to green, just for a moment. Freakshow seemed to have noticed, because he hit Danny in the back of his knees with the staff, that was now glowing. He fell to the ground.

As Freakshow started to chew Danny out and bully him back into submission, Valerie looked around.

The room was a huge ballroom of sorts,maybe the town hall building or something, that Freakshow had brought a throne into. There were ghosts lining the walls and every single exit, so even if they were able to figure out how to break free form the goo holding them, there's no way they would be able to break out of the room. They were outnumbered and out-powered. Hell, even if it was just Danny their chances would still be pretty slim.

Freakshow didn't spend to much time on Danny. Once he was done, he turned back to them, all on their knees in a neat little line.

"I want to celebrate your deaths," he said. He grinned from ear to ear, showing off his yellow teeth. "After all, getting rid of my greatest enemy's friends? That is quite an accomplishment. It'll be a performance. Bigger than the Fourth of July! We'll do it in the park where the whole town will be able to see! You and those other ghost hunters better start saying your goodbyes."

He threw his head back and cackled, waving his hands in their general direction. Before any of them had any time to react, bags were shoved over their heads, and they were forced down some halls and into a cold, dark room. Then the bags were taken off, and the goo disappeared.

Valerie looked around. The walls were cement, and there was a brand new bench hanging on the must have just been put in. But it wasn't the bench that concerned Valerie. It was the people on it, who made her skin crawl. She could feel the bile in her throat, the red in her vision as she stared at them. It was like her whole body was so aware of itself that it was numb.

She lunged for them, but Sam and Tucker were quick to hold her back. The Avengers were startled, to say the least. They had never seen Valerie so quick to maul anybody before.

"Of course you would be here, you fucking cowards!" She snarled at the couple.

"Now dear, that's no way to talk to your in-laws," the woman in the teal jumpsuit said.

"In-laws?" Tony looked at the couple, who Valerie was glaring daggers at. If looks could kill. "I didn't know Danny still had parents. He's never mentioned them. Like, ever."

"They lost the right to call him their son when they strapped him to that table," Valerie snarled, not breaking her eye contact with Jack and Maddie Fenton. Sam and Tucker were each holding an arm, but judging from the looks on their faces, they had half a mind to set Valerie free.

At her words, Tony's eyes widened. Steve saw how his skin was suddenly pale at the thought of Danny strapped down to a table.

"Strapped down to a table? Was it for medical purposes?" Thor asked. "That's what the doctors had to do to me when I first arrived on Midgard."

"No, Thor," Sam explained, an edge to her voice. She was looking down at the floor, and her knuckles were white. "They hunt ghosts. They…"

"They experimented on him," Valerie said quietly. She was no longer fighting Sam and Tucker, but they still held onto her. "As soon as they found out, they pretended to be okay with it. And then they strapped him down. And when they were done they sold him to the Guys in White."

"Guys in White? I thought they were disbanded?" Tony said.

"Danny is why they got disbanded. This all happened almost ten years ago. They're the reason Danny hasn't stepped foot in Amity in that long."

"Don't try to act like you know what you're talking about, Valerie," Jack said with a wave of his hand. "Our son is an abomination, and will be treated as such."

Sam and Tucker didn't even try holding Valerie back this time. They let her lunge for Jack, pinning his large body against the wall. Her arm was on his throat, pressing down enough to scare him. They knew she wasn't going to kill him, but he didn't.

"Danny is the bravest man alive or dead, and if you go near him ever again I will personally tear you limb from limb." Her voice was low and threatening, and she paid no attention to Maddie trying to pry her off. Sure, Maddie knew martial arts, but so did Valerie. And she had twice as much muscle as Maddie, so it didn't really affect her.

What did though was a pair of strong arms around her waist pulling her away from Jack. She half fought, half let herself be dragged away from him.

"Listen," Steve said as he set her down. "As much as I want to tear them apart myself, we have to focus. Danny and the rest of the ghosts are in trouble, and we need to figure out a way to get out of here before Freakshow takes over the whole world." Valerie didn't meet his eyes. She just glared at Jack, who was rubbing his throat. Steve grabbed her shoulder and pulled her around, getting her to focus on him.

"We are outnumbered and outgunned. You said they hunt ghosts? Unfortunately that'll come in handy. But when we free Danny and fix everything we can make sure that they're taken care of. Deal?"

Valerie looked at him for a long time. Her face was stony, but her eyes held an untamed rage he had never seen in her before. He knew that she would hold him to that promise. And he hoped that his expression told her he was going to follow through with it if it was the last thing he ever did.

"Deal. But they better sleep with one eye open."

"You're a heathen, just like your husband," Maddie said. "Being around ghosts all the time certainly has changed you."

"They've got more humanity than you," Valerie shot back. She moved to the other side of the room, which was starting to get really crowded, and sat down against the wall.

"I think that once we get Danny free, the other ghosts will break free, too."

Everybody looked at Sam as she spoke. She was still standing next to Tucker on the other side of the room, but Valerie could tell that her guard and determination were up.

"Danny and I have a theory that we've never really been able to test. We think that the ghosts take on their king's personality. Back when Pariah was king they were constantly breaking into our world and wreaking havoc, but ever since Danny became king they've really chilled out a lot. He's even friends with some of his former enemies. So even if we can't get to the staff, we can still break Danny free. That'll give us a major advantage anyway since he's the strongest ghost there is."

"That sounds like a solid place to start," Tony said, "But how are we going to get through the ghosts?"

Valerie sighed and looked at her suit. She knows it's a long shot, but she's basically the only one suited up enough to face them and have a chance. It confused her. Danny knows about her suit, and all of the hidden compartments and weapons it can pull out. Why didn't he say anything? Is this a sign of him fighting for control? What Freakshow did to him in the ballroom was because he was breaking his control.

"With my suit I probably can. It's risky, but I'm the only one that'll be able to get past them without getting possessed or something," she told them.

"Then let's strategize," Tucker told them. As they sat down in a circular shape, the Fenton parents reluctantly joining them per Natasha's orders, Valerie took a deep, calming breath, to center herself, and to focus.

Danny's still in there somewhere, and Valerie was gonna do everything in her power to get him back. Because soon, she wasn't going to be the only one to need him.


	17. Chapter 16

The people of Amity Park were used to ghosts. A little over ten years ago it had become a part of their everyday lives. Sure it's been quiet the past few years, but they always knew something would probably happen. And of course it would be linked to their old town hero, Phantom.

The ghosts came out of nowhere. Sure, everybody had seen Freakshow's broadcast, but everybody also remembered him getting his ass handed to him by Phantom, who was much younger at the time. And also not the king of ghosts. The locals had tried their best to warn everybody, to make precautions, but most tourists (or new residents) blew them off. They tried the shield around the town, because as much as they hated them, the Fenton parents do have some useful stuff. However, Freakshow is human, and so is Danny. They both could have easily slipped through, and then brought the ghosts in through a portal. As for the ghosts outside, well, _Portal_ is one of Danny's favorite video games. It's not a surprise he would use that method to get the ghosts through.

The cloud of ghosts was so thick they couldn't see the grey, cloudy sky past it. It was just a sea of green.

They really, _really_ hoped Danny was okay.

Everyone in town, mostly the people he went to high school with, figured out Danny's secret pretty quickly. Fenton wasn't exactly quiet about what happened in his parents lab when he talked to Sam and Tucker. Then a few days later a ghost hero shows up, and Danny starts acting weird? Not to mention they look the exact same? And the fact that Danny, for as heroic as he was, went my Danny Phantom for five years? The whole "going ghost!" phase too made it obvious Danny wasn't normal anymore.

It was kind of a no-brainer.

But the whole town also knew of his parents. The great ghost hunting duo, Jack and Maddie Fenton, vowing to tear Phantom apart molecule by molecule.

Phantom has done a lot for them over the years. The least they could do was keep his secret. It was an unspoken rule of the town.

But then he came out to his parents with it, and they...They did some pretty messed up stuff.

Dash had been surprised the day Sam and Tucker and Jazz came to him, begging for his help. All they needed was his brute strength. So Dash had called Kwan, because the guy is a fucking behemoth, and together they both brought down the doors to Fentonworks. But when they got there, it had already been too late. Danny had been shipped away to some government facility the Guys in White ran.

The whole place was caked in ectoplasm. On the floors, walls, and even the ceilings. And when the Fenton parents walked in from their basement, Dash could guess what atrocities they had committed against their own son.

Tucker had broken down soon after, his best friend kidnapped and probably never to be seen again. Jazz had disowned her parents, and hasn't spoken to them since. Sam suddenly took up Krav Maga. And they weren't seen for a while. But then six months later Phantom was back, and so were his friends. Different, sure, but back. He stayed as far away as he possibly could. Then another six months flew by and Phantom defeated Pariah Dark. Then...Then Phantom stopped coming to Amity. Yeah, there weren't really any ghost attacks anymore since the whole Pariah thing, but the town missed him. It wasn't just his heroics that they enjoyed. It was his whole personality and aura. Without him, the town went back to being a tourist trap.

Dani was nice, and she did her best to protect Amity when it needed to be, but with no ghost attacks it was a rare occurrence to see her.

They really wished they had her now, though.

Dash grunted as he swung a Fenton Creep Stick at one of the ghosts, making is splatter everywhere. Ectoplasm landed on his face and clothes. He looked over at Paulina, who had two small ecto-guns and was blasting her life away if any of them got to close. Kwan was close by with two giant gauntlets made for punching ghosts, helping Lancer get some citizens inside of the school. It was one of the only places in Amity big enough to hold a decent amount of citizens.

" _The Shining!"_ Lancer cursed as he held up a hexagonal ecto-shield, blocking some ghosts from the entrance as Kwan pummeled it to goo. "Baxter, get your friends and let's go!"

Dash slammed the bat into three more ghosts before following Kwan and Paulina inside. Lancer pressed a button by the door, activating the school's shield.

"I hope Danny is okay," Paulina said.

"Yeah, and Valerie, too," Kwan chimed in. Dash didn't say anything, though. He just looked out of the green tinted windows, worried about his old friend and the kid he used to shove into lockers.

"It's Danny, you guys," he said after a moment, turning back to them. "When is Danny not fine?"

"Always, dude," Kwan told him. "That's why we're worried."

"There hasn't been an invasion like this since Pariah Dark," Pauline said. "I'm not so sure he'll be able to get out of this one."

"The squirt's gotten out of worse," Dash said. He started walking down the hall to the cafeteria to assure the civilians that there wasn't anything that could break through the shield Tucker designed.

None of them noticed Lancer in the back, his eyes glowing red.

* * *

Being trapped in a cell was bad. But usually it was manageable. However, being trapped in there with Sam and Tucker was fine. Unless it wasn't.

For the past however long, they've been throwing as much shade as they could at the Fenton parents. Valerie, always the outspoken one, didn't say anything to them. Because for her, there were no words that could describe how she felt about them. People always joke about their in-laws being bad, but Valerie is sure hers take the cake.

It seemed like forever until Walker floated in, with several of his guards in tow.

"It's time," he told them.

"For what?" Asked Clint. Walker gave him a feral grin.

"To die."


	18. Chapter 17

"How long has it been?" Star asked. "We might need to make a supply run, soon."

"We've been stuck here for two days now," Dash told her. "We should have some non perishables in the basement to last us a little bit longer."

"With how many people we've shoved in here it won't be that much longer. Maybe another couple of days."

"That's a couple of days to plan, then."

"I'm afraid not, Mr. Baxter."

Dash and Star turned around to find Lancer, his hands behind his back and an unusual calmness about him.

"What do you mean?" Dash asked, his hand twitching for the bat strapped to his back. The motion didn't go unnoticed by Lancer.

"It's time," he told them. Except now his voice had a weird echo to it. Dash grabbed the bat and stepped in front of Star.

"Time for what?" She asked, reaching for the gun on her hip.

"Why, time for the big show of course," Lancer said, his voice not his own. He blinked, and when he opened them up again his eyes were bright red. Dash, without hesitating, slammed his fist through the glass and hit the alarm. They were plastered all around the school, another of Tucker's designs. He had strategically placed them every few yards for exactly this purpose.

Every hallway and classroom lit up, changing between red and green. Dash tightened his grip on his bat as he looked at Not-Lancer. The lights made his face glow eerily as Lancer stepped forward.

Then he lunged at them.

* * *

"It's time," Walker told them.

"For what?" Clint asked. He looked almost nervous, but his fake bravado held strong.

"To die."

Valerie had never liked Walker. He had been annoying, always trying to find loopholes in Danny's new rules for treating prisoners and such. That and the fact that he had invaded Amity all those years ago.

She wouldn't be surprised if he wasn't being brainwashed to do this. There was probably some part of him that was giddy at the thought of finally taking Phantom down, even if it meant bringing the whole Ghost Zone down with him.

Even though Valerie gets up with no argument, Walker is the one to come over and escort her himself, pushing her around a bit as he led them all in a line, one by one, up the stairs and outside.

They were in the heart of the city that Valerie loved so much, despite its problems.

They were paraded through the streets as citizens and ghosts alike cheered or booed on the sidewalks. When they were passing Casper High, Valerie's heart sank as she saw her old friends, Dash, Kwan, Star, and Paulina. They had been hiding people in the school, but judging from the bruising around Dash's face, it hadn't worked out. There were ghosts lining the sidewalks, making sure the people of Amity Park didn't try anything to save Valerie or the Avengers.

Valerie was glad they were smart enough to stay back.

The walk was long and terrible. At one point Walker pushed her hard enough to fall to the ground, scraping her knees, before pulling her back up by her collar and tossing her forward again. There were cries of protests from her friends, but Valerie stayed silent. She wasn't going to give Walker the satisfaction, no matter how much it stung.

They walked all the way to the park, where the birds had long since flown away. The sky was still green with spirits, but every now and then a little bit of blue would peak through. Valerie almost smiled to herself. Almost forgot where she was. Almost started remembering her and Danny's early relationship, where all they did was sit in the park and watch the clouds go by. But another shove from Walker pulled her back to reality.

And then she saw what was waiting for them.

It was long and complicated. Old and barbaric, even, but Valerie had no doubt that it would get the job done.

Sitting in the middle of the park was a twelve-person gallow, all with nooses ready to go. There was only one large lever to pull, and Valerie's heart broke when she saw who was the executioner.

Danny stood there, motionless. Both hands were on the lever, and he was wearing that blank expression on his face. His eyes were still red.

Behind the gallows sat Freakshow in his makeshift throne. The scepter, glowing and radiating with energy, was in his hand. Lydia floated next to him, ready to do whatever Freakshow needed her to. Dani was on his other side, standing in front of his throne. She stood tall and strong and expressionless.

Valerie watched Danny intensely as she was led up the stairs and put into the noose closest to her husband. If she looked closely enough she could see his hands shaking. He was fighting it. With every part of himself, he was fighting Freakshow. He just needed a little bit of help.

As the Avengers, Sam, Tucker, and the Fenton parents were put into their own nooses, the ghosts forced the citizens of Amity to crowd around them. Dash and the others were up front, while the ghosts floated above them.

"Welcome, one and all," Freakshow said. He glanced down at the crowd, and upon seeing that nobody had a camera, had a couple of ghosts force Lance Thunder to broadcast this to the entire world.

"Welcome, everyone," Freakshow said once again. "Today is a very special day, where we will not only get rid of Phantom, your precious ghost hero, but the Avengers as well! For without them in the way, ruling over the rest of you will be so much easier." Freakshow paused for dramatic effect. He stood up from his throne and walked down to the gallows, casually walking in front of each person. "I want you all to stay tuned as I-"

Freakshow stumbled back, falling down on his butt. His hat was knocked off. When he got back up, there was a large gash on his forehead. In the crowd, Jazz stood in the very front. She had another rock in her hand, ready to throw.

"Step away from my family," she snarled. Dash and Kwan quickly followed suit, picking up rocks and chucking them at Freakshow. A couple of them hit the Fentons because that's who he was in front of, but nobody really cared if they got hurt in the crossfire. Valerie is pretty sure Jazz threw one at them on purpose, anyway.

"Lydia," Freakshow snapped. He didn't need to say more than that. Lydia let all of her tattoos go, attacking Jazz and the others until other ghosts could come and hold them back.

"You girl," Freakshow said, pointing at Jazz. "If this is your family, then why don't you join them? After all, the last thing we need is another ghost hunter."

The ghost holding her flew her over to the last noose, shoving her head inside of it ungracefully.

"If anybody else would like to play childish games then you can join her! But first," he gestured to Phantom. "If you would please do the honors, slave."

Danny gripped the lever, his hands still shaking. He looked over at Valerie as Freakshow cackled.

Valerie stared at him, mouthing something to him and hoping he would understand. His hands paused for a moment as Valerie looked at him earnestly.

"Snap out of it," she told him. "You have to."

While she was distracted, Freakshow came up and grabbed her face, pulling it towards his. His breath smelled like his teeth looked. His red eyes bore into her.

"Nobody can help you now," he said, his voice quiet, and menacing. "I cannot wait to hear the sound of your neck snapping, girl." Valerie tried to pull her face away, but he held on tighter.

"You belong to me, now." Valerie only smirked.

"I belong to nobody."


	19. Chapter 18

"You belong to me now," Freakshow said, Valerie's face in his hand. Valerie smirked as best as she could.

"I belong to nobody."

There was a beep from her wrist, and a moment later her hover board cut through the crowd of ghosts and flew straight for them. Freakshow managed to duck, allowing the rope around Valerie's neck to get caught. It gave a harsh tug, pulling on her throat, but she was free. She jumped up into the air and landed on her hover board with ease. The crowd of humans cheered as she cut her wrists free.

There was no time to waste. She pressed a button with her foot that let out a blade from the side, cutting the ropes to the other's nooses. At the same time, she unhooked a gun from the bottom and blasted it at Freakshow. Unfortunately, Dani was there to save the day with a ghost shield. The shield shattered, but neither of them were harmed.

"It's go time!" She yelled at the heroes. Sam tossed Jazz a weird handle looking thing, and everybody watched before their eyes as a suit surrounded her in seconds.

Valerie shot another blast out, but Freakshow dodged it this time, and it ended up hitting Danny instead. He flew back into the grass, his chest smoking but otherwise fine.

All of the Avengers and the Fentons started fighting the swarm of ghosts that came towards them.

It was like art. They way they worked together, it was like they had been doing this their whole lives. They flipped and flew and spun and punched and everything in between. It was the most graceful dance of death any of them had ever seen. And it turns out that the Hulk didn't really need any ghost weapons like they thought. The gamma radiation coming off of him was enough to hurt the spiritual beings.

As the fight ensued, Valerie flew around to where Danny was.

"Danny?" She asked, shaking him. He opened his eyes, which were still blazing red. Without any hesitation she leaned forward and kissed him, but when she pulled back, his eyes hadn't changed.

Danny roughly shoved her off, and she rolled safely to the side as he sent an ectoblast towards her.

"Just like old times, then," she said, pulling out her bo staff.

Danny swung at her, but she blocked it with her staff, and used that small bit of distraction to sweep his legs out from under him. Then she pointed the butt of her staff at him and pressed a button on the side, shooting a pink ectoblast near his head. He dodged, just like she knew he would, because this isn't the first time they've fought.

She swung down with her staff, but he blocked it with his forearms, and Valerie knew he was going to be complaining about that for a week. But she pressed another button, sending green electricity through the weapon and into her husband, who screamed in pain. As she electrocuted him, he managed to open up his hands and blast her away.

Valerie could see Tucker running over as both she and Danny stood up. He was probably worried about the screaming. Valerie glanced at him, but it was enough to make Phantom turn his head. He whirled around, only to have Tucker slam into him on accident. They tumbled to the ground in a very precarious looking situation. But before Danny could blast Tucker off, he kissed Danny straight on the mouth.

It only lasted for a few seconds, but it felt like hours to Valerie. Not because she was jealous, but because she was really hoping Tucker had surprised him enough to snap out of it.

It worked.

Danny groaned, holding his head in his hands as Tucker straddled him.

"Tucker? What the fuck, man?" Danny asked. "What's going on?"

"Ghost invasion because of Freakshow. But now that you're free we can get them back on our side and stop him. Oh, and your parents are fighting with us but I would be careful around them."

The color seemed to drain from Danny's face at the mention of his parents, and she knew it must be an overwhelming amount of information all at once, but Valerie came and saved the day by pushing Tucker off of Danny, and giving him another kiss herself.

"Let's get 'em, Tiger," she told him, holding out her hand. He grinned up at her, and grasped her hand. She pulled him to his feet. "You ready?"

"Never been more ready in my life," he replied. He gave his shoulders a little wiggle before launching off into the air, hiding himself in the giant sea of ghosts nobody seemed to notice. He would use that to his advantage.

Danny's head hurt. It was like he had been drowning in thoughts that weren't his, trying his hardest to come up for air. Now that he was finally free, a new kind of energy flowed through him. He hadn't been in control of his own body for days.

He was going to show Freakshow what he could do with it.

Despite the fatigue he was feeling from the mind control and sleep deprivation, he had an enormous amount of energy. It was almost like when he fought Pariah. He was down for the count, but he managed to pull just enough energy out of him to end the tyrant king.

Without really putting much thought into it, Danny created a sword of ice, launching himself at Freakshow. But right before he could bring it down on him, Dani flew at him from the side, knocking him to the ground. He rolled several feet away, but only a couple of feet away from where Thor had dropped his hammer. He lifted it up with ease, noting the warm sensation coming from it. The magic inside wanted to protect, to defend. And it was going to help Danny do that.

He couldn't really explain how he got the lightning to come. It was almost like the hammer was guiding him, like all it needed was somebody to hold it while the hammer did the rest.

The lightning struck right next to Dani and Freakshow, knocking them both back. Thor looked surprised, probably because Danny took his hammer without asking, but if he was going to beat this circus freak with ghost envy he was gonna use every tool that was thrown his way.

Even if he was the one that was thrown.

Freakshow had dropped the staff, so before he could reach it again Danny sent out another blast of lightning.

Even if Danny's aim had been bad, he's sure the hammer would have still done all the work. It hit the red orb of the staff, creating a small crater in the ground that knocked Dani and Freakshow back even further.

"No!" he heard him yell. Danny reached out his hand, and the hammer flew back to him. He gently floated to the ground, literal lightning at his fingertips, as he calmly walked towards Freakshow.

"You have terrorized my people," he said. His voice boomed eerily, and lightning and ectoplasmic energy sparked around him. Every step he took, the ground froze beneath his feet. Freakshow started backing away in terror before tripping over himself. He tried to crawl away, but Hulk just huffed at him. Freakshow was pale already, but now he was downright paper-like. "You have terrorized the people of Amity Park." Danny leaned in, his sense of humor outweighing the rage he felt. "You will pay for your sins," he said directly into Freakshow's ear. He screamed and tried backing away, but backed up right into Hulk instead, who grabbed him by the ankle and lifted him up.

Danny couldn't help it. He started laughing at him, letting all of the anger kind of flow out of him. The lightning around him stopped, as he calmed down his normal powers.

"Hey Thor!" He called. "Thanks for letting me borrow this!"

He tossed the weapon back to the Asgardian, who looked absolutely dumbfounded. But he caught it with ease anyway, holding the hammer a little closer to his chest than before.

Danny, without explaining anything, flew up into the sea of ghosts where he knew his old friends would be.

It wasn't hard to find Clockwork and Frostbite in the sea. Wulf had done them a favor and opened a portal to the Zone, so the ghosts were slowly filtering out of Amity.

"I'm sorry everything got so out of hand, guys," he said to them. Frostbite didn't say anything. He just flew up to him and pulled Danny into the strongest hug of his life. Once he let go, Clockwork pulled him into a hug as well.

"Good work, Daniel," he said. "Shall I cancel the next council meeting?"

"God, please," Danny said, making everyone laugh. He was tired. Every bone in his body hurt, and he still had a massive headache. "I'll be back soon. I gotta take care of things here first. But can you make sure everybody gets back safely?"

"As you wish, My King," Frostbite said. Danny gave them one last smile before flying back below the sea of ghosts that was slowly but surely getting smaller.

However, as soon as he was far enough away from the other ghosts, a sharp, intense pain erupted in his side. He plummeted to the ground to fast for anyone to catch him. There was an audible gasp, but Danny was more focused on trying not to let the rings come. If they came, he wasn't sure if he was going to be able to pull them back.

He groaned as he tried to climb out of the small crater he had created, but as soon as he came up, two barbs latched into him, one in his arm and one in his chest, sending several volts of electricity through him.

The pain was immense. He was hurting before, but now it was overwhelming, white hot pain shooting up and down his whole body. All he wanted to do was help the person who was screaming, until he realized that the noise was coming from him.

It seemed to last forever, but he knew it was probably just a few seconds. But it was enough to make him collapse, half in the crater and half out. His vision was fuzzy, the edges turning black. His parents were still pointing their guns at him. His mom actually took the shot, just as he saw Valerie running towards his parents, her bo staff in her hands.

"That's my wife!" Danny managed to yell at them. He started coughing vigorously before flopping down on the ground, ready for the pain to hit him. But it never came.

Dash Baxter stood in front of him, blocking the blast with an old, beat up trash can lid.

Danny tried lifting his head up, as he noticed more people stepping in between him and his parents, armed to the teeth with bats and rocks and other various items that could cause a lot of damage if thrown. Danny's heart swelled. For once his town was protecting him.

When the rings came, he let them wash over him. He was vaguely aware of someone, maybe Sam or Tucker, grabbing his arms and lifting him up, but he quickly passed out after that.

Iron Man was furious.

He watched as Clint and Sam pulled Danny-who now had black hair and normal clothes on-out of the crater. It seemed like everyone in Amity was standing in between his parents and Danny, and in turn Iron Man stood in between the crowd and the Fentons. His hands were up, pointed at the ghost hunting duo. But he didn't need to do anything.

Valerie was a force to be reckoned with. She was beat up and bloody, probably running on fumes, but the second they shot at her husband she went buck fucking wild.

While the Fentons were distracted with the crowd and with Iron Man, she ran up behind them and started beating the ever loving shit out of them. If it hadn't been for both Thor and Steve having to hold her back, she probably would have killed them.

Tony gave himself a mental reminder not to get on her bad side.

As they pulled Valerie off of them, Iron Man walked over to the now bloody parents, his hands whining with arc energy, ready to blast at them if needed.

"Put your weapons down and put you hands behind your head," he told them. They glared up at him but complied.

Smart choice.

* * *

It took an hour for S.H.I.E.L.D. to get there. There was one ship for villain transport, which Iron Man was more than happy to throw the Fentons in with Freakshow, while the other one was for medical purposes that all of them clambered into.

Danny was the most injured out of all of them, what with the brain washing, fatigue, and now the injuries from his parents. Valerie, despite the cut on her forehead, was sitting by his side, holding his hand. Tucker and Sam were on the other side, half asleep. The Avengers all sat around on the extra benches, all doing relatively okay. There weren't too many injuries among them thanks to Tucker's tech.

Tony took off his helmet and slumped down next to Steve and Thor, really looking at Danny now that he had transformed.

He had black hair, darker than the night sky. His skin was littered with little scars everywhere that Tony hadn't noticed before because he was always wearing sleeves. He had a wedding band around his finger that had one green and one red stripe on it, signifying his and Valerie's colors.

"Holy shit," Tony sighed, running an armored hand down his face. "What a day, you guys."

"I still can't believe it," Steve admitted.

"He held Mjolnir," Thor said, still stunned. He was looking at Danny intensely, but in awe.

"What's the big deal?" Steve asked.

"Only those who are truly worthy can wield Mjolnir," Thor explained. "He is truly worthy. A noble ally to have on our side."

"I wanna know how he did the magical girl transformation," Clint said with a yawn.

"We'll explain everything later," Valerie told him, not looking at him. She didn't want to peel her eyes away from Danny at all. Not even for a second. "It's...Kind of complicated."

"That," Tony said, yawning himself and settling back into his seat, ready to drift off, "it a big fat understatement."


	20. Chapter 19

There was a slow, methodical beeping noise off in the distance. It was comforting in its consistency, a point to focus on. It wasn't so fast it was distracting and harsh. It just lazily beeped and beeped until Danny, after an endless amount of time, realized it was a heart monitor.

His eyes flew open and he shot up, noticing the bright, fluorescent lights and IVs in his arms. But before he could even begin to pull them out a hand grabbed his leg and squeezed.

Danny looked at Valerie, who looked calm and collected. She also looked tired. There were dark circles under her eyes, and he hair was pulled back into a tight bun, which she only did when she didn't wash it. But she was smiling at him, and it made her look as stunning as ever. It also brought Danny back to reality.

He had completely forgotten about the big fight he had against Freakshow, and then landing in the crater after his parents shot him. Now that he wasn't freaking out anymore, he could feel the pain throughout his body, the never ending ache in his bones. He also had a small cut in between his fingers that was driving him nuts.

Across the room, lounging in the chairs and full on snoring were his two best friends, Sam and Tucker. He sighed and settled back into bed.

"I know you don't like hospitals, but this one is the only one that'll keep everything under wraps. It's owned by S.H.I.E.L.D."

"I understand," he told her. His throat was dry, and what came out wasn't a confident young king, but an old, tired, raspy voice.

"Drink some water," Valerie told him, holding it up to his lips. He took a few sips and leaned back into the bed. At the same time, the door opened.

Dani came in, looking behind her momentarily. She was holding a bouquet of flowers. Daisies and carnations. Danny smiled at them, and at her as she placed them on the large window sill.

"Well look who's finally awake," she said, pulling her dark hair behind her ear. "Do you know how long it took me to convince them that I'm not gonna murder you?"

"Hi, Dani," Danny greeted. "How are you feeling?"

"I should be asking you that. But I'm fine," she paused, looking at him for a moment before continuing. "So are all of the other ghosts. They're more shaken up than anything, but they'll be fine. Frostbite and Clockwork got them all back safely."

"Thank you. I really appreciate it."

Just as Dani was about to give him a witty remark, someone came in.

They weren't quiet and careful like Dani had been. The door literally flew open, and Thor walked in with a tray of something in his hands. He was beaming.

"Daniel!" He greeted. Danny raised an eyebrow, because this is probably the nicest that the god has ever been to him.

"Hey, Thor," he waved at him lazily. As Thor set down the plate of what Danny noticed were cookies, slightly burnt, the other Avengers came in.

Danny had always visited them at the Tower, where they were almost always in some piece of their costume just in case anything happened. But now they were all in casual clothes, including Thor. Tony, Bruce, and Clint were going more for comfort than style like everybody else, and after the whole Freakshow thing Danny couldn't blame them.

"His eyes are blue," Tony said to Clint, holding out his palm. Clint grumbled and rolled his eyes as he dug into his pocket and handed Tony a few crumpled dollars.

"What?" Danny asked. Why on earth would they make bets about the color of his eyes when they've known him for months now?

Realization hit Danny like a brick as Natasha stared at him, her eyes looking into his very soul. She wasn't as scary as Valerie when she was angry, but that didn't mean he didn't need to watch his step.

"Surprise," Danny croaked. He held up a finger gun and pointed it at Tony. "Only half dead."

"How in the hell does that work?"

"Fuck if we know," Danny replied. Clint let out a snort and Steve rolled his eyes. But before anybody could say anything snarky, Thor stepped forward.

"You have been brave, Daniel," he said. "I am proud to know you. I am proud to call you my friend. And if you need anything, Asgard will always provide."

Danny looked at him, surprised for a moment before smiling and holding out his fist. Thor tapped it with two fingers, looking confused yet energetic.

"Thanks, right back at you. And from one king to another, you're not that bad, man."

"How come you didn't tell us you were living a double life?" Tony asked. He didn't sound angry, just curious as he sat at the foot of the bed.

"So I didn't get it mixed up in all of this. In S.H.I.E.L.D. I've had bad experiences with the government and I didn't think they would know any better. But now they know, so who gives a shit."

"That's not the only thing they know," Natasha said, speaking up. She tossed a folder at him, and he opened it.

The frown on his face was immediate as he looked at grainy pictures of himself from ten years prior, and of more recent ones taken with better cameras. There were also pictures of him when he was in the Guys in White's custody. Him in his cell, him strapped to a table, and one particularly gruesome one when he was cut open, and awake for it all. He flipped through those ones quickly, the frown on his face growing. There was a flash drive taped to the back of the folder, right after a list of all of the powers that S.H.I.E.L.D. knew about.

"What is this?" He asked, holding up the flash drive.

"A drive with some Guys in White footage on there," Natasha answered. Immediately it was up in flames in the center of his palm. The effort made his core strain slightly, as he was not nearly back to one hundred percent, but it was worth it to wipe that footage off the face of the Earth.

"You can do that to the whole thing if you want," she told him. "I've already deleted the stuff on our servers, and all of the backups. The only thing left is that."

"Why? Won't you get in trouble?"

"Nah, Fury loves me too much. But...You didn't ask for that, and you certainly didn't ask for anybody to know about it. So it's yours."

"Thank you," he said, giving her a big smile. She just gave him a small one back.

"Hey, Sam," Danny said, handing the folder. "Burn that for me?" Sam grinned as she took it from him, pulling out a small lighter as she did so.

"I'll add it to my burn book."

"What the hell is a burn book?" Clint asked, taking a step away from Sam.

"It's a scrapbook of all the things I burn. I can catalog my life through the things I burn. My grand kids will think I'm awesome."

"Or creepy."

"Say it louder," Sam said, pulling a knife, seemingly out of nowhere, a grin on her face as she pointed it at Clint. "I dare you."

Clint walked away, and stood next to the door. Just in case. Danny couldn't help but laugh, It made his whole body ache even more, and there was a splitting feeling in his ribs, and it gave him a coughing fit, but he...He had missed this. He had missed the banter and the good times and just sitting around and doing nothing. And these guys...These guys brought it back. He hasn't felt this happy in a long time.

The Avengers stayed for a little while longer, until one of the nurses came in and told everybody to get out while she checked on Danny.

As Valerie left, she kissed Danny on the forehead, and waved goodbye, and Danny waved after her.

When the nurse was done changing his bandages, Danny flopped back onto his pillow with a satisfied sigh. Moments later he was in the most peaceful sleep he has ever had in his (after)life.

Valerie came in later. Danny was fast asleep, looking relaxed for the first time in years. The tension was nowhere to be found in his body.

Which also meant he was drooling all over the pillow. She smirked as she took several pictures, and only a quarter of them could be perceived as flattering. She sent them to all of the Avengers, Sam, and Tucker, and received several emojis back.

She chuckled to herself as she set her phone down and took a page out of Danny's book. She gently climbed on the bed with him, and he wrapped his arms around her stomach, using her shoulder as a pillow.

She hummed gently as she ran her fingers through his hair until she too was asleep.


	21. Epilogue

Footsteps echoed throughout the halls as he walked. Villains they've captured before lifted their heads up, some snarling at him, and some ignoring him completely. The Fenton parents glared at him as he walked past them.

He stopped in front of Freakshow.

He was in a bright green cell, Foley's design, so that no ghost could ever break him out.

"It seems that some of our files have gone missing," Fury told him, putting his hands behind his back as he calmly looked down at the pale skinned man. Red eyes glowered at him. He launched himself at Fury, but was stopped by the thick glass of his cell. He was mere centimeters away. He could practically taste the blood he could spill.

"What a tragedy," he spat. Fury hadn't even flinched. It made Freakshow seethe with anger.

"Because those files were lost, we have to make new ones. So you and the Fentons are going to provide any knowledge of them that you have, and also make us aware of any other artifacts like your nifty little staff."

"And if I don't comply?"

"Well, your paperwork hasn't been processed yet, and I've got a trigger-happy firing squad ready. Your choice."

Freakshow thought for a moment, and sighed as he sat back down.

"Fine. I do know of a few other artifacts…"

* * *

In the next few weeks during Danny's recovery, he and Valerie stayed at the Tower, where they were bugged constantly by everybody and Jarvis. Danny had a bad case of PTSD from this, and had a lot of sleepless nights, but the bright (and sad) side to this was that Steve also had a lot of trouble sleeping.

They stayed up together until dawn on several occasions, and would talk until Steve went on his morning run, where Danny would go back to bed and catch a few more hours of sleep.

He and Tony and Bruce spent a lot of time in the lab, too. They had seen the file, and while they didn't want to know anything about what went on there, they did ask him about his physiology, and how he was able to be dead and alive at the same time. Tony had theorized that Danny was just possessing his own body and using a secret shape shifting power to turn into Phantom, to cope, and Danny shut that down really quickly on the scientific basis of creepiness.

He found out that it wasn't just Freakshow who ended up in S.H.I.E.L.D. custody either. His parents also got thrown in, for attacking a superhero. Attempted murder, whether it was on a ghost or not, wasn't a good idea to do on an Avenger. So they get seven lifetimes, and Danny went ahead and threw afterlife in there for good measure. And because he was petty.

They stayed there for three weeks before heading back to the Zone, promising to come back once a week for game night. Bruce had finally found another who was just as obsessed with Dungeons and Dragons, and wanted to run a campaign with them. Which, in turn, got everybody else interested.

* * *

Back in the Zone, Danny breathed in the scent of their lair. The throne room, their bedroom, everything. He hugged Valerie tightly once they were settled in, swinging her around in excitement and happiness.

"Woah, calm down, Tiger," she said, pulling herself away from Danny, a smile on her face.

"You love that. And I feel fine, my healing factor worked like a charm."

"Not for us, honey," she said. Danny looked at her, confused, until Valerie put her hand on her stomach.

"I'm pregnant."

"What?" Danny shouted with excitement. He rushed forward and hugged her tightly, restraining himself from swinging her around. "Wait," he said as he pulled back. "How do you know? You haven't tried any pregnancy tests or anything. Not that I've seen, anyway."

Right at that moment, Valerie started glowing and floating. Danny pulled her down and hugged her again.

"I'm so, so fucking happy right now. I can't believe I'm gonna be a dad. I love you so much."

"I love you too, Tiger. Now come on," she pulled away. "Let's figure out how to baby proof the castle."


End file.
